Former President Trump's Administration Seeks Supreme Court Approval to Dismiss Top Copyright Director
The former leader's government on Monday petitioned the US Supreme Court to allow the termination of the director of the American copyright authority.
This emergency request comes about a month and a half after a national appeals court in Washington ruled that the official, Shira Perlmutter, could not be unilaterally fired.
Nearly one month prior, the entire District of Columbia appeals court refused to review that ruling.
This case is the latest in a line of cases related to presidential power to place chosen heads at government offices.
The Supreme Court has generally allowed such dismissals, even as legal challenges continue.
However, this specific case involves an office within the national library. Perlmutter acts as the register of copyrights and also advises Congress on intellectual property matters.
The solicitor general, D John Sauer, argued in the filing that, regardless of ties to Congress, the director “exercises administrative authority” in overseeing copyrights.
Perlmutter claims she was fired in May because the former president disagreed with recommendations she provided to Congress in a document related to AI.
She allegedly received an email from the White House notifying her that her position was “terminated starting at once,” according to her office.
A split appeals court group decided that Perlmutter could keep her job while the legal dispute moves forward.
“The administration's claimed blatant meddling with the duties of a Legislative Branch official, as she performs legally authorized responsibilities to advise Congress, strikes us as a violation of the division of government authority,” stated Justice Florence Pan for the appellate panel.
Judge J Michelle Childs supported the ruling. Both judges were appointed to the appellate court by Democratic leader Joe Biden.
In dissent, Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, wrote that Perlmutter “uses executive authority in a variety of ways.”
Perlmutter's lawyers have argued that she is a well-known intellectual property expert. She has served as register of copyrights since former head librarian Carla Hayden selected her to the role in October 2020.
The former president appointed assistant attorney general Todd Blanche to replace Hayden at the Library of Congress. The White House had dismissed Hayden amid criticism from right-leaning groups that she was advancing a “woke” program.