While TOTUS lies and struts, Botch McConnell subverts the Judicial system. MA.
Andrew Solender Forbes Staff May 5, 2020,12:39pm EDT
Judge Sri Srinivasan, in an order dated May 1, asked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to prompt an investigation into a complaint alleging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pressured a federal judge to retire in order to elevate his protégé to the seat.
KEY FACTS
The New York Times reported in March that Mcconnell had been quietly urging Republican-nominated judges eligible for retirement to step down in order to be replaced by younger conservatives to help maintain ideological control of the court.
Later that month, progressive group Demand Justice requested an investigation into whether McConnell pressured DC Circuit Court of Appeals judge Thomas B. Griffith to make room for 37-year-old Justin Walker.
Now, the Times reported Monday, Srinivasan, the chief justice of the DC Circuit Court appointed by Obama, is requesting that Roberts assign the case to a different circuit to investigate the complaint, stating that an investigation by the DC Circuit Court would pose a conflict of interest.
“Nothing is known about whether or how Majority Leader McConnell might be attempting to further incentivize these judges,” the complaint stated. “A prompt inquiry into the majority leader’s potential efforts to influence Judge Griffith, perhaps through improper means, is essential, particularly because it appears that he has attempted to influence many other federal judges, as well.”
The complaint cites rules governing judicial conduct, which prohibit judges from accepting gifts in exchange for favors related to a judicial office.
“If Judge Griffith accepted anything of value in exchange for his retirement from the bench, including the promise of future employment, such as a prestigious professorship, or future income or any bonuses that could have come with an agreement for future employment, he may be violating these Rules.” they argue.
The Times reported that Srinivasan said he made the order public to signal that the accusations of judicial misconduct are being taken seriously by the courts, since they have been “reported in various major news outlets.”
McConnell spokesman Doug Andres told Forbes ”Leader McConnell looks forward to watching Judge Walker’s confirmation hearing this week.”
KEY BACKGROUND
Mcconnell has racked up an impressive record of confirming conservative judges, especially during the Trump administration. Like Walker, Mcconnell’s 37-year-old protégé who was confirmed to a lower federal courtship last October with no prior judicial experience, many of Trump’s judicial nominees have been young and some have received “not qualified” ratings from the American Bar Association
This spate of young appointments is part of a comprehensive push by Republicans to reshape the court in a conservative ideological image. Oftentimes, the Senate GOP’s methods have defied convention, such as refusing to give a hearing to Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland in 2016. More recently, Senate Republicans pushed to gavel the upper chamber back into session to confirm a new slate of judicial nominees despite risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
BIG NUMBER
- 192. The Senate has confirmed192 mostly conservative judicial nominees since Trump took office, already far outpacing the 134 confirmationsin President Obama’s first term with many months still to go.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Walker is already a controversial nominee, having received a “not qualified” rating from the ABA, vocally backed Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the face of sexual assault allegations and openly advocated for coordination between judges and conservative political groups. This development may threaten to further complicate what was already shaping up to be a tense confirmation battle.
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