Impeachment threats against judges — and sometimes physical threats to their safety — compromise the independence of the judiciary, experts warn.

As Republican lawmakers seek to impeach judges for slowing President Donald Trump’s agenda, two leaders of the US judiciary issued rare public remarks condemning those actions as threats to the independence of judges.

Key members of the U.S. federal judiciary warned on Tuesday of a rising number of threats directed at their colleagues and described calls to impeach judges over their rulings "concerning" as some Republican lawmakers push to remove jurists who have blocked U.

Two senior federal judges on Tuesday raised the alarm about the increase in violent threats against members of the judiciary and expressed concerns about calls to impeach judges over the rulings they make.