Democracy Dies in Darkness

Trump officials accused of defying 1 in 3 judges who ruled against him

A comprehensive analysis of hundreds of lawsuits against Trump policies shows dozens of examples of defiance, delay and dishonesty, which experts say pose an unprecedented threat to the U.S. legal system.

15 min
From left, Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., and Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor attend the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

President Donald Trump and his appointees have been accused of flouting courts in a third of the more than 160 lawsuits against the administration in which a judge has issued a substantive ruling, a Washington Post analysis has found, suggesting widespread noncompliance with America’s legal system.

Plaintiffs say Justice Department lawyers and the agencies they represent are snubbing rulings, providing false information, failing to turn over evidence, quietly working around court orders and inventing pretexts to carry out actions that have been blocked.

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