Retiring federal judge Mark Wolf says he is stepping down so he can finally speak, unshackled, about what he views as an existential threat to the rule of law. However, what his dramatic exit really exposes is how comfortable elites have become in their seats of power and how hollow their complaints about “free speech” often sound when set against a lifetime of unparalleled privilege.

Wolf, a Reagan appointee who had served for more than 40 years, recently published a resignation essay stating that he “no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom.” He faulted President Donald Trump for what he sees as the weaponization of the legal system, the shielding of allies, the abuse of prosecutorial power, and the erosion of oversight. He added that remaining silent is now “intolerable.”