Poland's court crisis deepens as protests continue

Protests continued Saturday outside Poland's Constitutional Tribunal after its chief judge was suspended, with no resolution reached in the ongoing political crisis. President Nawrocki still refuses to approve judges nominated by Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-European government. Tusk condemned attempts to "destroy democracy" and called Friday's turmoil "terrible," while the European Commission urged Nawrocki to comply with Poland's constitution and EU law. Tusk's camp and the national-conservative PiS party, which ruled from 2015 to 2023, accuse each other of seeking control of the court. Suspended chief judge Bogdan Swieczkowski received his title under PiS, and Tusk's government has sought to reform judicial institutions since taking power in 2023.