Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY) are demanding answers from Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit related to a misconduct complaint against a judge who made inflammatory comments about former President Donald Trump while proceedings that involved the former president were being considered by the court.

In a letter dated May 20, 2024, the lawmakers demanded clarity regarding the complaint against Judge Beryl Howell, intimating that the court proceedings had been compromised by her actions.

The complaint centers on a speech Howell gave at the Women’s White Collar Defense Association (WWCDA) awards gala in Washington, D.C., on November 27, 2023, in which she quoted from a book critical of the former president. “Judge Howell quoted portions of the book that disparages President Trump, commenting that ‘big lies are springboards for authoritarians’ and noting that the U.S. is ‘at a crossroads teetering on the brink of authoritarianism.’”

The letter also asserts that Howell’s comments “appear to violate Canon 2B of the Code of Conduct for United States judges, which requires that judges ‘act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.’”

Despite being filed over five months ago, Stefanik’s complaint has remained unaddressed, even though she “filed her complaint three times and via different methods,” according to the letter.

The lawmaker’s demands come as Trump faces an indictment from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The letter also requests specific pieces of information from the Office of the Circuit Executive related to the status of Stefanik’s complaint. In February, the court ruled that the former president is not immune from prosecution.

Trump, who has maintained presidential immunity safeguards him from prosecution over events related to his waning days in office, had hoped the courts would agree. However, in a ruling out Tuesday morning, the DC Circuit ruled that such immunity did not apply here.

The three-judge panel on the DC Circuit said in its opinion Tuesday that it is upholding the decision from a lower court denying him absolute immunity from prosecution.

The appeal, which is likely to find its way to the Supreme Court, has forced the delay of a March trial date for the presidential candidate.

Jordan and Stefanik also set a deadline for this briefing, insisting that it be scheduled by June 3 and argued that matters pertaining to judicial misconduct should be taken seriously. However, given that Stefanik’s complaint was lodged five months ago, it seems clear that the court is avoiding the matter as much as possible.

It does not appear that the court cares about the notion that Judge Howell allegedly exhibited bias against a defendant appearing before the court, which will only serve to fuel more speculation that the prosecutorial efforts against Trump are motivated more by politics than a pursuit of justice.

Of course, the political motivation behind the Democrats weaponization of government was already evident from the beginning, but one would think they would try to hide it more effectively. If Howell did make these statements at a public event, one has to wonder why she feels so comfortable doing so given the position she holds. Perhaps the fact that the court is clearly slow-walking the process of evaluating Stefanik’s complaint seems to indicate that they do not plan to address the issue.

Either way, this is a developing story, so there will be more scrutiny on Chief Judge Srinivasan if they continue to stall the process.