Gonzalez and other chairs came together Thursday to condemn Cebull’s email. Gonzalez wants judge to resign

The chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Thursday called for the resignation of the chief federal judge of Montana, following the judge’s admission he sent a racially charged email about President Barack Obama that made a reference to a dog.

Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas) told POLITICO that he “absolutely” believes that Chief U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull should step down from the bench.


“Absolutely. I think it’s time for this judge to do the right thing. I’m not trying to make this bigger than what it is, but there’s no way that he can defend the comments,” Gonzalez said. “I can’t help but think that anyone capable of sending those kinds of emails — you have to wonder what is harbored inside the heart.”

He added, “His time on the bench has run its course.”

Gonzalez, along with the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, came together on Thursday to condemn Cebull’s email, releasing a joint press release, attacking the judge’s behavior.

“Chief Judge Richard Cebull’s email was deplorable, shameful and inexcusable,” Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), the chairman of the CBC, said in a statement. “There is no way to shroud hatred under the cloak of differences in ideals. The email was blatantly racist and filled with the hateful rhetoric this country has strived so desperately to leave behind. An apology alone is not acceptable.”

Asked Thursday whether he believes Cebull should resign, Cleaver indicated he was in agreement with Gonzalez, telling POLITICO: “He does not have the judicial temperament that is a measuring stick that is used any time judges are appointed.”

“The tongue is not an involuntary appendage,” the congressman said. “So there’s no such thing as an accident with your tongue. … What is very clear to me is that bigotry makes your mouth work faster than your mind and we have a clear example of this with judge Cebull.”

Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), who chairs the CAPAC, said she was “appalled” by the Cebull’s apparent “lack of judgment.”

“His admittedly racist email about President Obama is unbecoming for any public figure,” she said. “The American people expect their judges to behave with a higher level of discipline, and I join my Tri-Caucus colleagues in expressing my strong disappointment in his actions.”

Cebull landed in hot water this week after an email, first obtained by the Great Falls Tribune, revealed that he had forwarded a racist joke about Obama to more than a half-dozen recipients from his court email account.

“Normally I don’t send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine,” began Cebull’s email, written under the subject line, “A MOM’S MEMORY.”

The text continued: “A little boy said to his mother; ‘Mommy, how come I’m black and you’re white?’ His mother replied, ‘Don’t even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you’re lucky you don’t bark!’”

Cebull told the Tribune that the email was indeed racist, but that he had intended the correspondence to remain private. He offered an apology, conceding he could “understand why people would be offended.”

“The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan,” he told the publication. “I didn’t send it as racist, although that’s what it is. I sent it out because it’s anti-Obama.”