SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Associate Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh listens as President Donald J. Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony in the East Room of the White House on October 8, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Kavanaugh's Attendance at Right-Wing Holiday Party Raises New Ethics Concerns
The justice attended a party with former Trump administration adviser Stephen Miller, whose legal organization has interests in at least one case the court is deliberating.
Dec 13, 2022
Just days after a former evangelical activist testified before Congress about the ease with which he and his associates lobbied right-wing U.S. Supreme Court justices, Politico reported that Justice Brett Kavanaugh attended a private holiday party with a number of high-profile conservatives, sparking alarm among ethics watchdogs.
"The Supreme Court is compromised, and our rights are at risk. It's time to reform the court."
The news outlet reported over the weekend that Kavanaugh attended a party Friday night at the home of Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC). Other attendees included former Trump administration officials Alexander Acosta, Sebastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller.
Miller is also the founder of the America First Legal Foundation, which submitted a brief to the court in the case of Moore v. Harper, supporting North Carolina legislators' efforts to reinstate a gerrymandered congressional map under "independent state legislature" theory.
"Is that ethical?" asked Accountable.US Tuesday after Bloomberg also reported on Kavanaugh's attendance at the party.
\u201cSupreme Court Justice Kavanaugh attended a party hosted by the chair of a conservative political group. @StephenM, whose @America1stLegal filed amicus briefs in upcoming #SCOTUS cases on voting rights, also attended. \n\nIs that ethical?\n\nhttps://t.co/NNV21gBvq8 via @bpolitics\u201d— Accountable.US (@Accountable.US) 1670952968
The news comes weeks after the New York Times published a bombshell report in which Rev. Robert Schenck, the former head of right-wing group Faith and Action, alleged that Justice Samuel Alito had leaked at least one Supreme Court decision to Schenck's associates and that the pastor's group had sought access to conservative justices at events.
The day before Kavanaugh attended the party, Schenck testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that his associates would regularly "'adopt' a designated Justice (with their spouse, if applicable), first as a prayer concern, then as possible conversation partners, and ultimately as familiar acquaintances, if not friends." He told lawmakers that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has presided over a "more relaxed, less guarded atmosphere inside the Court" which has made it easier to gain access to justices.
The Times report and Schenck's testimony has sparked intensified demands that the court adhere to a binding ethics code, as all other federal courts do.
\u201cDid you know Supreme Court Justices don't have ethics rules?\n\nThat needs to change.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1670942767
"The Supreme Court is compromised, and our rights are at risk," said advocacy group Demand Justice in an ad released Monday featuring Schenck's testimony. "It's time to reform the court."
\u201cSupreme Court whistleblower Robert Schenck says his secret lobbying campaign to roll back abortion rights at the Supreme Court "compromised" the promise of equal justice.\n\nOur new ad -->\u201d— Demand Justice (@Demand Justice) 1670867323
A Gallup poll released in September showed that only 47% of U.S. adults had trust in the judiciary--plummeting 20 points in just two years.
Kavanaugh's decision to attend a party alongside people who "live, eat, and breathe conservative political action" indicates either insensitivity or indifference to the public's perception of the court's ability to be impartial, Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh told Bloomberg.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Just days after a former evangelical activist testified before Congress about the ease with which he and his associates lobbied right-wing U.S. Supreme Court justices, Politico reported that Justice Brett Kavanaugh attended a private holiday party with a number of high-profile conservatives, sparking alarm among ethics watchdogs.
"The Supreme Court is compromised, and our rights are at risk. It's time to reform the court."
The news outlet reported over the weekend that Kavanaugh attended a party Friday night at the home of Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC). Other attendees included former Trump administration officials Alexander Acosta, Sebastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller.
Miller is also the founder of the America First Legal Foundation, which submitted a brief to the court in the case of Moore v. Harper, supporting North Carolina legislators' efforts to reinstate a gerrymandered congressional map under "independent state legislature" theory.
"Is that ethical?" asked Accountable.US Tuesday after Bloomberg also reported on Kavanaugh's attendance at the party.
\u201cSupreme Court Justice Kavanaugh attended a party hosted by the chair of a conservative political group. @StephenM, whose @America1stLegal filed amicus briefs in upcoming #SCOTUS cases on voting rights, also attended. \n\nIs that ethical?\n\nhttps://t.co/NNV21gBvq8 via @bpolitics\u201d— Accountable.US (@Accountable.US) 1670952968
The news comes weeks after the New York Times published a bombshell report in which Rev. Robert Schenck, the former head of right-wing group Faith and Action, alleged that Justice Samuel Alito had leaked at least one Supreme Court decision to Schenck's associates and that the pastor's group had sought access to conservative justices at events.
The day before Kavanaugh attended the party, Schenck testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that his associates would regularly "'adopt' a designated Justice (with their spouse, if applicable), first as a prayer concern, then as possible conversation partners, and ultimately as familiar acquaintances, if not friends." He told lawmakers that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has presided over a "more relaxed, less guarded atmosphere inside the Court" which has made it easier to gain access to justices.
The Times report and Schenck's testimony has sparked intensified demands that the court adhere to a binding ethics code, as all other federal courts do.
\u201cDid you know Supreme Court Justices don't have ethics rules?\n\nThat needs to change.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1670942767
"The Supreme Court is compromised, and our rights are at risk," said advocacy group Demand Justice in an ad released Monday featuring Schenck's testimony. "It's time to reform the court."
\u201cSupreme Court whistleblower Robert Schenck says his secret lobbying campaign to roll back abortion rights at the Supreme Court "compromised" the promise of equal justice.\n\nOur new ad -->\u201d— Demand Justice (@Demand Justice) 1670867323
A Gallup poll released in September showed that only 47% of U.S. adults had trust in the judiciary--plummeting 20 points in just two years.
Kavanaugh's decision to attend a party alongside people who "live, eat, and breathe conservative political action" indicates either insensitivity or indifference to the public's perception of the court's ability to be impartial, Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh told Bloomberg.
Just days after a former evangelical activist testified before Congress about the ease with which he and his associates lobbied right-wing U.S. Supreme Court justices, Politico reported that Justice Brett Kavanaugh attended a private holiday party with a number of high-profile conservatives, sparking alarm among ethics watchdogs.
"The Supreme Court is compromised, and our rights are at risk. It's time to reform the court."
The news outlet reported over the weekend that Kavanaugh attended a party Friday night at the home of Matt Schlapp, chairman of the Conservative Political Action Coalition (CPAC). Other attendees included former Trump administration officials Alexander Acosta, Sebastian Gorka, and Stephen Miller.
Miller is also the founder of the America First Legal Foundation, which submitted a brief to the court in the case of Moore v. Harper, supporting North Carolina legislators' efforts to reinstate a gerrymandered congressional map under "independent state legislature" theory.
"Is that ethical?" asked Accountable.US Tuesday after Bloomberg also reported on Kavanaugh's attendance at the party.
\u201cSupreme Court Justice Kavanaugh attended a party hosted by the chair of a conservative political group. @StephenM, whose @America1stLegal filed amicus briefs in upcoming #SCOTUS cases on voting rights, also attended. \n\nIs that ethical?\n\nhttps://t.co/NNV21gBvq8 via @bpolitics\u201d— Accountable.US (@Accountable.US) 1670952968
The news comes weeks after the New York Times published a bombshell report in which Rev. Robert Schenck, the former head of right-wing group Faith and Action, alleged that Justice Samuel Alito had leaked at least one Supreme Court decision to Schenck's associates and that the pastor's group had sought access to conservative justices at events.
The day before Kavanaugh attended the party, Schenck testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing that his associates would regularly "'adopt' a designated Justice (with their spouse, if applicable), first as a prayer concern, then as possible conversation partners, and ultimately as familiar acquaintances, if not friends." He told lawmakers that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has presided over a "more relaxed, less guarded atmosphere inside the Court" which has made it easier to gain access to justices.
The Times report and Schenck's testimony has sparked intensified demands that the court adhere to a binding ethics code, as all other federal courts do.
\u201cDid you know Supreme Court Justices don't have ethics rules?\n\nThat needs to change.\u201d— Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics) 1670942767
"The Supreme Court is compromised, and our rights are at risk," said advocacy group Demand Justice in an ad released Monday featuring Schenck's testimony. "It's time to reform the court."
\u201cSupreme Court whistleblower Robert Schenck says his secret lobbying campaign to roll back abortion rights at the Supreme Court "compromised" the promise of equal justice.\n\nOur new ad -->\u201d— Demand Justice (@Demand Justice) 1670867323
A Gallup poll released in September showed that only 47% of U.S. adults had trust in the judiciary--plummeting 20 points in just two years.
Kavanaugh's decision to attend a party alongside people who "live, eat, and breathe conservative political action" indicates either insensitivity or indifference to the public's perception of the court's ability to be impartial, Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh told Bloomberg.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.