On Wednesday, March 18, Prof. Anita Hill (WGS, LGLS, AAAS) hosted a fireside chat in Schwartz Hall with former district judge of Massachusetts Mark L. Wolf, titled, “The Existential Threat to the U.S. Rule of Law and Democracy and How to Counter It.” Professor Hill and Judge Wolf discussed how the politics of President Donald Trump’s administration are jeopardizing the American government’s core foundations, such as rule of law and free and fair elections. Wolf began his legal position in 1985 and retired in 2025 in order to speak out against the Trump administration. 

Prof. Daniel Kryder (POL) commenced the event by elaborating on the importance of these conversations in the current era, introducing Hill and Wolf. The conversation started with a question about  the difference in the current Department of Justice under the Trump administration compared to the Justice Department over the past decades. Wolf described  them as “diametrically different” and explained that when President Gerald Ford chose Edward H. Levi as attorney general, he explicitly said that the attorney general should always place the interests of the American citizens over the interests of the president. In stark contrast, Wolf believes Trump pushes his attorney general to prosecute his perceived enemies. Wolf pointed to individuals such as James Comey, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Letitia James, attorney general of New York, officials who have both been targeted by the administration. He contrasted this with the case of Tom Homan, who has been deemed Trump’s “border czar” and was being investigated for potential bribery in 2024. However, unlike the strain that Comey and James faced, Homan’s charges were eventually dropped. Wolf remarked, “The Department of Justice is not committed to equal justice under law,” thus questioning presidential power over the judicial system.  

Hill asked Wolf how he managed his career at a time of heightened political tension. Wolf explained, “Everything I try to do is with others. A lot of people are asking, ‘What can I do,’ [but] I think a better framing of the question is ‘What can we do?’” He emphasized that citizens should be highly concerned over the upcoming elections since he believes that Trump will eventually impose martial law and as a result will have an excuse to get rid of elections altogether. To combat this, he implored attendees to exercise their right to vote. Wolf’s interest in civic engagement is derived not only from his position as a concerned citizen, but also as someone who helped found Integrity Initiatives International, an NGO which advocates for laws that hold corrupt leaders accountable for their actions.

Wolf explained how years of traveling to different countries ruled by corrupt leaders has led him to believe that there’s a need for a higher court in order to handle world leaders who have no domestic laws to answer to. He used Turkey as an example of a case where there are no laws in place to check a leader’s power demonstrating that this can cause abuses of power such as the unfair arrests of journalists after the attempted coup in 2016. His organization has advocated for an International Anti-Corruption Court to handle such cases. He added that he never expected that this court would have to take a case in the United States as they typically prosecute our corrupt officials. He then said that “in certain circumstances,” Trump could be prosecuted by this court. This drove home the message that the Trump administration has been operating with a far different playbook than previous administrations, and Wolf perceived this change as a sign that the country is heading down a dangerous path. 

After Wolf’s conversation with Professor Hill, there was a short question and answer  session with the audience. In response to a question about election integrity, Wolf asserted that Massachusetts has less to worry about as it had very predictable election results each year. Other states are at a greater risk of losing their voting rights. Wolf mentioned the importance of protests in light of the recent demonstrations in Minnesota and how, even though they were risking their lives, the protests have led to Immigration and Customs Enforcement “declaring victory” and leaving the city. He added that it was important to protest, but citizens should be mindful of where they do so. He jokingly said that protesting on “the Weston town green … it’s just not likely to have a maximum impact.” 

Another question mentioned an inquiry into Wolf’s alleged workplace misconduct and asked if there should be stronger checks on judges given the power gap with their employees. An inquiry into Wolf was opened in November 2025 about creating a hostile workplace for employees. Although Wolf was not named by the judge who opened the order, a National Public Radio report identified that the judge was Wolf. Wolf’s decision to retire ended the review into his workplace conduct, although he never publicly stated that this inquiry had anything to do with his retirement. Wolf answered, “You can’t believe everything you read in the newspaper.” He insisted there was no credibility to the accusation and suggested that since he had openly spoken against powerful individuals, people were trying to disparage his name. Wolf didn’t share his perspective about checks on judges. 

The event concluded with a final question from Professor Hill where she asked about how people can get involved to counter the actions of the current administration, to which Wolf responded, “Well, I think they have to think about what they can do.” He added that even though now may be a dangerous time, America has been good to him and his family and he wants to assure that his children and grandchildren are able to live according to the American ideals of liberty and justice for all. He said that this should motivate us to imagine what kind of world we want our children and grandchildren to live in, and going forward people should figure out how to combat the actions of the Trump administration.