Updated 3:59 p.m.

In a rare rebuke, Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. on Wednesday defended the nation's independent judiciary against President Donald Trump's attack on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and an “Obama judge” for delivering an “automatic loss” to cases brought by the Trump administration.

“We do not have Obama judges or Trump judges, Bush judges or Clinton judges,” Roberts said in a statement issued by the court. “What we have is an extraordinary group of dedicated judges doing their level best to do equal right to those appearing before them. That independent judiciary is something we should all be thankful for.”