Don't Let the Door Hit You On the Way Out

On Monday, a federal judge resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases. US District Judge James Robertson gave no reason for his resignation, but that didn't prevent the Washington Post from "finding" a reason:

A federal judge has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources. [ed. - Emphasis mine]

Of course, the "sources" may be correct. Paul Mirengoff of Powerline has his own take on Judge Robertson who may have had a political reason to leave the panel so publicly.

Judge Robertson should be respected for his decision, which appears to have been an act of conscience. However, as the Post acknowledges near the end of its story, Robertson is a liberal judge (very liberal, if my my experience is any indication) who "who has often ruled against the Bush administration's assertions of broad powers in the terrorism fight, most notably in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld."

Read the rest of Paul's post and follow all the links. If you do, I think you'll agree that Judge Robertson's departure is a welcome one.