Judicial Crisis in D.C.: Artist Julian Raven Files Amended Complaint Against Judge Cooper, Echoing DOJ Complaint Against Chief Judge Boasberg

WASHINGTON - July 29, 2025 - PRLog -- As headlines swirl following the U.S. Department of Justice's official misconduct complaint against Chief Judge James E. Boasberg, artist, author and free speech litigant Julian Raven today announced that he has updated and redirected his own judicial complaint to the D.C. Circuit's Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, citing an ethical and procedural conflict.

The conflict? Boasberg—the same Chief Judge now under investigation by the DOJ for political bias and prejudicial conduct—is the official tasked with evaluating Raven's prior judicial misconduct complaint against Judge Christopher Cooper, who presided over Raven's 2022 case Raven v. Sajet (22-cv-2809 CRC).

"In any system committed to due process, a judge under federal investigation for ethics violations cannot credibly rule on complaints about another judge's impartiality," said Raven, referencing the DOJ's damning July 27 filing that alleged Boasberg made improper public comments about President Trump and then issued erroneous rulings based on those assumptions, which the Supreme Court later vacated.

Raven's original complaint, filed June 28, 2025, against Judge Cooper alleged:

• Dismissive framing of a constitutional First Amendment case as a "skirmish"
• Neglect of Supreme Court precedent (Lindke v. Freed, 2024)
• Ignoring core evidence regarding Smithsonian official Kim Sajet's social media
• Failure to address Smithsonian's unresolved legal entity status
• Procedural delays that undermined timely justice

According to Raven's amended submission:

"The fact that my complaint must now be judged by a man who is himself under serious federal ethical review creates a judicial paradox. How can the fox guard the henhouse while the hawk investigates the fox?"

The backdrop of this legal escalation includes President Trump's recent firing of Kim Sajet from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and an explosive New York Times exposé (July 27, 2025) involving Smithsonian Chancellor John Roberts, who is also the Chief Justice of the United States.

Julian Raven is a long-time critic of the Smithsonian's leadership and fiduciary conduct. He is also the plaintiff in a newly filed federal lawsuit Raven v. Smithsonian III (25-cv-02332 TSC), challenging breaches of public trust and seeking clarity on the Smithsonian's legal status as a federal/public/private hybrid.

"With both Cooper and Boasberg under the cloud of judicial scrutiny," Raven stated, "the time has come to restore credibility, transparency, and accountability to the federal bench—especially in cases implicating speech, trust, and public institutions."

For more information or to request interviews, visit https://www.smithsoninstitution.com/litigation
or visit Raven substack :https://julianraven.substack.com/