TV interview
The News with Brian Williams (CNBC) Dawn Fratangelo, host
Judge Roy MooreNovember 13, 2003
DAWN FRATANGELO: Judge Moore, thank you for being with us. Do believe Ms. Strossen [Nadine Strossen, President of the ACLU] that we are thriving religiously, that our religious rights are thriving in this country?
ROY MOORE: I think that Ms. Strossen is very wrong. She confuses the rule of law with the order of a court. That is the rule of man. When we start bending to federal judges who do not know what the law is, or think they're above the law, then we're being ruled by the rule of man, not the rule of law.
FRATANGELO: But there are some who believe your actions showed that you were above the law, that you felt you were above the law.
MOORE: Absolutely not, ma'am. The rule of law is the constitutional provision which says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This federal district judge said that the court did not have the expertise to define the word religion. When you can't define a word, you can't interpret the law.
The judge further went on and said it was dangerous and unwise to define the words. Now, if you have a statute and you can't define the words, then you put yourself above the law when you enter an order. Judges, just like governors and presidents and executives of every sort, are under the rule of law.
And the rule of law certainly . . . .
FRATANGELO: Absolutely. And being under . . . .
MOORE: . . . doesn't forbid the acknowledgment of God.
FRATANGELO: Being under the rule of law, though, this ethics panel felt it had no choice whatsoever but to remove you for violating a court order, for violating the law. But you did have a choice. You could have removed that monument.
MOORE: Ma'am, the monument was removed, and the ethics panel that heard this case was ruling on whether or not I would acknowledge God if I went back to office. I can read you out of the transcript what the attorney general [Bill Pryor] questioned me on.
He said, "Mr. Chief Justice, your understanding is that the federal court ordered that you could not acknowledge God? Isn't that right?"
I said, "Yes."
He said, "And if you resume your duties as Chief Justice after this proceeding, you'll continue to acknowledge God, as you have testified you would have today?"
And I said, "That's right."
He said, "No matter what any other official says?"
I said, "Absolutely."
And he said, "The only point I'm trying to clarify, Mr. Chief Justice, is not why but only that, in fact, if you do resume your duties as Chief Justice, you will continue to do that without regard to what any other official says. Isn't that right?"
And it's "absolutely." You see . . . .
FRATANGELO: So, you would have brought the monument back, had you returned to the bench.
MOORE: I did not say I would bring the monument back. I said . . . .
FRATANGELO: Did you insinuate that you would bring the monument back, though, if you did return or retain your chief justice status?
MOORE: I said I would not leave it locked in the closet, because to do so is simply to hide the truth that we must recognize a God in this country and a higher law. It was historically and accurately so. And the United States Code, annotated, says the organic law of our country is the Declaration of Independence, which acknowledges God in four places.
The ACLU and others, like the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, are out to rid this nation of the knowledge of God and to take away all acknowledgments from us. This federal district judge did exactly that. And when you take away that knowledge of God, you have only one source to turn to, and that's human law, that's international law, which we see in our federal district courts and our United States Supreme Court today.
FRATANGELO: All right, we're going to have to end there. Judge Roy Moore, thank you for being with us tonight.
MOORE: Thank you very much, ma'am.
ROY MOORE: I think that Ms. Strossen is very wrong. She confuses the rule of law with the order of a court. That is the rule of man. When we start bending to federal judges who do not know what the law is, or think they're above the law, then we're being ruled by the rule of man, not the rule of law.
FRATANGELO: But there are some who believe your actions showed that you were above the law, that you felt you were above the law.
MOORE: Absolutely not, ma'am. The rule of law is the constitutional provision which says "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." This federal district judge said that the court did not have the expertise to define the word religion. When you can't define a word, you can't interpret the law.
The judge further went on and said it was dangerous and unwise to define the words. Now, if you have a statute and you can't define the words, then you put yourself above the law when you enter an order. Judges, just like governors and presidents and executives of every sort, are under the rule of law.
And the rule of law certainly . . . .
FRATANGELO: Absolutely. And being under . . . .
MOORE: . . . doesn't forbid the acknowledgment of God.
FRATANGELO: Being under the rule of law, though, this ethics panel felt it had no choice whatsoever but to remove you for violating a court order, for violating the law. But you did have a choice. You could have removed that monument.
MOORE: Ma'am, the monument was removed, and the ethics panel that heard this case was ruling on whether or not I would acknowledge God if I went back to office. I can read you out of the transcript what the attorney general [Bill Pryor] questioned me on.
He said, "Mr. Chief Justice, your understanding is that the federal court ordered that you could not acknowledge God? Isn't that right?"
I said, "Yes."
He said, "And if you resume your duties as Chief Justice after this proceeding, you'll continue to acknowledge God, as you have testified you would have today?"
And I said, "That's right."
He said, "No matter what any other official says?"
I said, "Absolutely."
And he said, "The only point I'm trying to clarify, Mr. Chief Justice, is not why but only that, in fact, if you do resume your duties as Chief Justice, you will continue to do that without regard to what any other official says. Isn't that right?"
And it's "absolutely." You see . . . .
FRATANGELO: So, you would have brought the monument back, had you returned to the bench.
MOORE: I did not say I would bring the monument back. I said . . . .
FRATANGELO: Did you insinuate that you would bring the monument back, though, if you did return or retain your chief justice status?
MOORE: I said I would not leave it locked in the closet, because to do so is simply to hide the truth that we must recognize a God in this country and a higher law. It was historically and accurately so. And the United States Code, annotated, says the organic law of our country is the Declaration of Independence, which acknowledges God in four places.
The ACLU and others, like the Americans United for Separation of Church and State, are out to rid this nation of the knowledge of God and to take away all acknowledgments from us. This federal district judge did exactly that. And when you take away that knowledge of God, you have only one source to turn to, and that's human law, that's international law, which we see in our federal district courts and our United States Supreme Court today.
FRATANGELO: All right, we're going to have to end there. Judge Roy Moore, thank you for being with us tonight.
MOORE: Thank you very much, ma'am.