The Polish Parliament’s move on Saturday to subvert judicial independence has opened a searing debate about whether a nation once held up as a paragon of post-communist democracy has slid back into a darker era. – Washington Post
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has vowed to defend Poland from EU sanctions over Warsaw’s attempts to purge the country’s highest courts, deepening an east-west European split over the contentious judicial reforms. – Financial Times
Editorial: On Friday, the State Department issued a bland statement calling on “all sides to ensure that any judicial reform does not violate Poland’s constitution,” while saying it was “confident about the strength of Poland’s democracy.” That faith hardly seems warranted — and if Mr. Trump himself is perturbed by the impending liquidation of the “freedom” he lauded, there’s no sign of it. – Washington Post