Top DHS lawyer turns tables on 128 ex-judges after Bar declines ‘Worst of the Worst’ complaint

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin speaks during a news conference Wednesday, July 1, 2026, in New York.(AP Photo/David ‘Dee’ Delgado)

Percival pointed to the Florida Bar’s previous handling ofa complaint involving former Attorney General Pam Bondi, arguing that they already signaled refusal to probe sitting presidential appointees.

“[W]hat these 128 former judges did was frivolous, and they were on notice that it was frivolous because the Florida Bar is very clear about this.So, it’s ‘Bar-fare’,” he said, playing on the term “lawfare.”

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Percival said the same tactic has been used elsewhere, including the Hunter Biden laptop controversy and the way dissent over COVID-era restrictions was met with echoes of “trust the experts.”

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“The left has just like often hid behind this veneer, this prestige [of expertise] and they’ve gotten people who carry weight to carry their water for them.And I really think the emperor has no clothes on this, but we have to call it out and expose it.”

When the political left does not want to publicly debate the merits of their assertion, they get figures who appear authoritative to shut down dissent, he said.

The comments came after rule-of-law groups Democracy Defenders Fund, Lawyers Defending American Democracy and 128 former federal and state judges filed a 24-page complaint accusing Percival of violating Florida’s rules governing statements about judges.The complaint alleged that Percival, a licensed Florida attorney, violated ethics rules through “public attacks on sitting judges.”

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“His statements mischaracterized the judges’ rulings and assailed their character and integrity.The ethics rules exist for a reason: Baseless attacks on judges by lawyers and public officials can undermine confidence in the courts and heighten the risk of physical threats against judges,” Democracy Defenders Fundsaid in a statementafter the Bar declined to investigate the complaint.

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Former Florida Supreme Court Chief Justice Peggy Quince, an appointee of Democratic ex-Gov.Lawton Chiles, led the judges’ consortium.

The complaint focuses on four judges featured in Percival’s “Worst of the Worst” posts, whom he accused of actions including “open defiance of the Supreme Court,” “judicial sabotage” and “judicial micromanagement.”

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DHS General Counsel James Percival’s worst-of-the-worst judges list recently featured Biden appointees Brian Murphy and Hernan Vera, and Obama appointee Paula Xinis, pictured.(Senate Judiciary Committee)

The cases involved disputes overTemporary Protected Status, the government’s handling ofKilmar Ábrego Garcíaand DHS use-of-force policies.

The complaint also referencedan article writtenby Percival condemning former President Joe Biden and a Rhode Island judge he appointed after an illegal immigrant whom DHS said had an international warrant for homicide was ordered released.

Percival said the activist judges themselves are the ones who are being a “disservice to the judiciary.”

He argued that judges know their district court rulings can delay executive action when they cannot be immediately appealed.

As for the complainants, Percival said those who are themselves members of the Florida Bar should face scrutiny over whether they abused the complaint process for political purposes.

Bar Counsel Christopher Wackes wrote his group does not investigate or prosecute “sitting officers appointed under the U.S.Constitution while they are in office.” Wackes said any action could “encroach on the authority of the federal government.”

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A gavel strikes, left;DHS counsel James Percival, right.(Alex Kormann/Getty Images;DHS Photo)

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He quipped situations like the bar complaint show he is over the proverbial target:

“[I]f people are this upset about what I’m doing, it must be having an effect that they don’t like, which really just encourages me to keep going,” he said, pressing conservatives to fight for their causes despite the knowledge the left will “try to ruin your life.”

�s Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.