'You aren't cool': Experts react to judge in Trump probes quoting Taylor Swift in opinion
27 June 2024
A federal judge, who has been involved in former President Donald Trump's Jan. 6 Capitol election insurrection criminal case — took some creative license in his decision to nix a federal approval for Indiana's Medicaid expansion plan.
Chief Judge James "Jeb" Boasberg paraphrased pop phenom Taylor Swift's track "Exile" in the middle of his formal 66-page ruling.
"Because they’ve seen this film before (and they didn’t like the ending), Defendants seek to leave out the side door," reads the Memorandum Opinion.
The mention was cited at the bottom of the page to: "Taylor Swift, Exile, on Folklore (Republic Records 2020)."
The line harks directly to the lyrics of "Exile" that features the chorus: "I think I've seen this film before / And I didn't like the ending /I'm not your problem anymore / So who am I offending now? / You were my crown, now I'm in exile, seein' you out / I think I've seen this film before /So I'm leaving out the side door."
The mention was cited at the bottom of the page to: "Taylor Swift, Exile, on Folklore (Republic Records 2020)."
The line harks directly to the lyrics of "Exile" that features the chorus: "I think I've seen this film before / And I didn't like the ending /I'm not your problem anymore / So who am I offending now? / You were my crown, now I'm in exile, seein' you out / I think I've seen this film before /So I'm leaving out the side door."
POLITICO reporter Kyle Cheney admired the move, tweeting: "Judge Boasberg sneaks a Taylor Swift reference into a 66-page opinion overturning HHS' approval of Indiana's Medicaid waiver."
"Did not have Judge Boasberg pegged as a Swiftie," former prosecutor and MSNBC legal expert Joyce Vance responded.
This is not only disrespectful to litigants but it makes opinions harder to read," Constitutional attorney Anthony Michael Kreis wrote Thursday. "Stop it. You’re a judge. You aren’t cool. (Unless I know you personally.)"