Former President Trump's Administration Asks Supreme Court Permission to Fire Leading Copyright Director
The former president's government on Monday requested the US Supreme Court to permit the removal of the director of the US Copyright Office.
This emergency request follows about a month and a half after a national appellate court in Washington decided that the director, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.
Almost one month prior, the full District of Columbia appeals court refused to reconsider that ruling.
This legal matter is the latest in a line of disputes related to presidential power to place preferred leaders at federal agencies.
The High Court has mostly permitted such actions, even as legal challenges proceed.
However, this particular matter involves an office inside the Library of Congress. Perlmutter serves as the register of copyrights and also counsels Congress on intellectual property matters.
The solicitor general, D John Sauer, argued in the filing that, regardless of connections to Congress, the register “exercises executive power” in overseeing copyrights.
Perlmutter alleges she was terminated in May because the ex-leader disagreed with advice she provided to Congress in a report concerning artificial intelligence.
She allegedly received an message from the administration notifying her that her position was “ended effective immediately,” according to her office.
A split appeals court panel decided that Perlmutter could keep her position while the legal dispute proceeds.
“The administration's alleged blatant interference with the work of a Legislative Branch official, as she performs statutorily authorized responsibilities to counsel Congress, appears to be a violation of the division of government authority,” stated Justice Florence Pan for the appellate panel.
Justice J Michelle Childs joined the opinion. Both judges were nominated to the appellate court by Democrat leader Joe Biden.
In opposition, Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, argued that Perlmutter “uses administrative power in a host of manners.”
Perlmutter's attorneys have argued that she is a renowned copyright expert. She has acted as register of copyrights since ex- head librarian Carla Hayden selected her to the role in October 2020.
The former president appointed deputy attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the national library. The administration had fired Hayden amid criticism from conservatives that she was advancing a “woke” agenda.
