Anonymous Law Clerks Claim Forced Silence on Israel-Hamas War

A group of anonymous federal law clerks have signed an open statement saying they have been “forced” by ethics rules to be “only passive observers of Israel’s assault on Gaza,” even as some federal judges speak out on the ongoing conflict.

In the statement published Wednesday in the blog Balls & Strikes, which is backed by the left-leaning judicial advocacy group Demand Justice, the clerks said that “in theory,” members of the judicial branch are “powerless” to discuss the war in Gaza as it’s a political matter. The letter points to a January court ruling by US District Judge Jeffrey ...