Category: Supreme Court

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Donald Trump Supreme Court

Biden’s SCOTUS Nominee Has Already Laid A Legal Smackdown On Trump

When he nominated Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, President Joe Biden not only picked an eminently qualified jurist to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, he also chose someone who has a prior legal skirmish with former President Donald Trump which didn’t go the way the ex-president was hoping.

Josh Gerstein of Politico notes that a ruling Jackson issued against Trump in 2019 made it clear she doesn’t have a problem speaking her mind, even when she’s doing so in response to the president of the United States:

When the House’s lawsuit seeking to enforce a subpoena against former Trump White House Counsel Donald McGahn was randomly assigned to Jackson in 2019, the consensus among court watchers was that Trump was likely to be fileted. What emerged from Jackson was an 118-page jeremiad that did not mince words in dissecting Trump’s claim that his advisers had an absolute right to ignore Congressional subpoenas at his direction.

“Stated simply, the primary takeaway from the past 250 years of recorded American history is that Presidents are not kings,” Jackson wrote, dismissing the longstanding argument as “a fiction” and “a proposition that cannot be squared with core constitutional values.”

Such a ruling will likely lead some Republicans (i.e. Sen. Lindsey Graham, who claimed the choice had been made by Biden after pressure from the “radical left” ) to brand Jackson as a liberal, activist judge who will try to legislate from the bench, but her record doesn’t support such a ludicrous allegation:

“There’s very little there that can legitimately be characterized as radical. She’s a judge who takes pains to find and apply the law in an evenhanded manner with a balanced tone,” said Tomiko Brown-Nagin a constitutional law scholar and dean of the Harvard-Radcliffe Institute.

Judge Jackson is a former public defender, which gives her a unique perspective on the legal process that most Supreme Court justices (the majority of whom are former prosecutors) don’t possess. That experience alone will make her a welcome addition to the highest court in the land.

Also, knowing how Trump likely feels about Jackson makes her appointment even sweeter. She’s exactly the sort of jurist he would never have given a second look, if only because of the color of her skin.

Categories
Impeachment Supreme Court

Alarming New Conflicts Of Interest By Justice Clarence Thomas Raise Talk Of Impeachment

For years now, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been a lightning rod for criticism, in part for his right-wing rulings and controversial past which nearly derailed his nomination when he was accused of sexually harassing Anita Hill while both worked at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

Now Thomas is once again in hot water thanks to two blatant conflicts of interest that have some legal experts saying the justice could well face impeachment.

 

The first controversy stems from a dissent made by Thomas regarding documents sought by the House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol insurrection. He was the only member of the high court to rule that former President Donald Trump could keep documents hidden from the committee.

At the same time Thomas made his ruling, his wife, Ginni, was actively engaged in activism against the Jan. 6 investigation, which led University of Texas Law Professor Steve Vladeck to note during an appearance on CNN:

“There are surely substantive reasons, consistent with his jurisprudence, why Justice Thomas dissented from the Court’s decision to not help President Trump in that case. But for folks who are already skeptical of the Court, for folks who already view it as a deeply partisan, political institution, the fact that he is the sole dissenter, given what we know about Ginni Thomas’s involvement, sets off alarm bells.”

Pamela Brown of CNN fleshed out exactly how deeply involved Justice Thomas’ wife has been in trying to derail a full investigation of the Jan. 6 riots:

“The debate has continued because of Ginni Thomas’s ties to another issue before the court she sits on the advisory board of a conservative group, the National Association of Scholars. They submitted two legal briefs to the Supreme Court in favor of plaintiffs challenging affirmative action and admissions at two universities. Peter Wood is president of the organization, and said that she played no role in the legal briefs.”

The other conflict for Thomas is the revelation that he’s been in “regular contact” with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) via email, which was reported by Politico on Friday:

Emails handed over to American Oversight, a group that bills itself as a government watchdog, suggest that DeSantis is in regular contact with Justice Clarence Thomas. In June 2021, Thomas’ wife, Ginni, who runs her own consulting firm, worked with the DeSantis administration to have the governor talk to a coalition of groups, including people affiliated with Judicial Watch, the conservative organization that uses information requests and lawsuits to investigate public officials.

Why is a potential 2024 Republican presidential contender communicating with a sitting Supreme Court justice? Even if they’re only discussing the weather or the Super Bowl, the appearance suggests something less than kosher. And that alone could lead to calls for Thomas to be impeached.

Are there enough Republican senators willing to cross the aisle and remove Justice Thomas from the court? Probably not, but an impeachment trial might convince Thomas that the time has come for him to step down.

Clarence Thomas has always been an illegitimate member of the highest court in the land. And his actions since he joined the Supreme Court are proof that he doesn’t belong there.

 

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GOP Whining Racism Supreme Court

Majorie Taylor Greene Has A Meltdown Over Biden’s Plan To Nominate A Black Woman As Next SCOTUS Justice

Even though she swears she’s not a bigot or a racist, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is absolutely apoplectic that President Joe Biden has promised to nominate a black woman to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Greene made an appearance on the “War Room” podcast of indicted former Trump administration official Steve Bannon on Monday, and she immediately began whining about Biden and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has said he welcomes the nomination of a black woman to the high court:

“We want leaders in Washington that are actually going to do the job instead of beg and cry on television for small dollar donations when someone is actually trying to get them out of office. And so for Lindsey Graham to stand there on television and defend Joe Biden’s pick for a Black justice on the Supreme Court, which is the most racist thing — I thought we were done with racism in this country — we should look at character, accomplishments, and he ability to do the job.”

Greene then added that all Graham is doing is “helping Biden’s agenda” and “doesn’t care about the two-tier justice system in America because he feels he was a victim of the riot at the Capitol right along with Nancy Pelosi…”

Did Marjorie have a problem with any of the SCOTUS nominees from failed, one-term former President Donald Trump? Of course not; they were all white and right-wing extremists.

The fact that Greene would dare to say, “I thought we were done with racism in this country” proves just how dangerously out of touch she is. It also suggests that she feeling aggrieved by the idea of a black Supreme Court justice because her bigotry cannot allow her to consider the idea without it arousing anger in her tiny cinder of a heart.

Categories
Supreme Court

Jen Psaki Schools Male Reporter On ‘Choices’ After He Asks Absurd Question About Abortion

Less than 24 hours after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to strike down a restrictive Texas law which forbids nearly 85% of all abortions in the state, the Biden administration made it clear it will not sit by and allow women across the United States to be denied a right they are guaranteed under Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision handed down in 1973 which established that states may not seek to control a woman’s reproductive freedom.

President Joe Biden had this to say Thursday afternoon in an official statement:

“It unleashes unconstitutional chaos and empowers self-anointed enforcers to have devastating impacts,” Biden, a Democrat, said in a statement directing federal agencies to act to protect the right to abortion enshrined in the high court’s landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. “Complete strangers will now be empowered to inject themselves in the most private and personal health decisions faced by women.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki also commented on the ruling by the high court, noting:

“The effort and the focus of the federal government is to look for every resource, every level at our disposal to ensure that women in Texas have the ability to seek healthcare.”

That led Owen Jensen, the White House correspondent for EWNT — The Eternal Word Television Network — to ask:

“Why does the president support abortion when his own Catholic faith teaches abortion is morally wrong?”

Without a moment of hesitation, Psaki expertly swatted down Wilson by telling him:

“He believes that it is a woman’s right, a woman’s body, her choice. He believes it is up to a woman to make those decisions and make those decisions with her doctor. I know you have never faced those choices nor have you been pregnant. But for women out there who have faced those choices, this is an incredibly difficult thing in the president believes that their rights should be respected.”

Boom! Game, set, and match, Jen Psaki.

It shouldn’t be required to teach Americans that church and state are supposed to be kept separate under our form of government. It’s enshrined in the damn Constitution! As Thomas Jefferson himself once wrote:

“Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burned, tortured, fined and imprisoned. What has been the effect of this coercion? To make one half the world fools and the other half hypocrites; to support roguery and error all over the earth.”

The Texas attack on a woman’s right to choose will backfire on the state and on Republicans nationally. It may well hand the 2022 election to Democrats at the local, state, and national level.

When it comes to the right to choose, we should leave those decisions to the women who have to make them.

 

Categories
Crime Supreme Court WTF?!

Christian Group Tied To Amy Coney Barrett Faces Charges Of Sexually Molesting Children

A far-right Christian group with extensive ties to Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett has allegedly been allowing children to be sexually abused over the years and reportedly refused to punish the adults accused of committing the crimes.

The Washington Post reports that the group, known as “People of Praise,” is a offshoot of the “Christian movement of the early 1970s, which adopted practices described in the New Testament of the Bible, including speaking in tongues, the use of prophecy and faith healing.”

But all of their claims of piety hid a darker secret which came to light when Katie Logan called the Eden Prairie, Minnesota Police Department to report a crime:

“Her high school physics teacher had sexually assaulted her two decades earlier, she said. She was 17 and had just graduated from a school run by a small Christian group called People of Praise. He was 35 at the time, a widely admired teacher and girls’ basketball coach who lived in a People of Praise home for celibate men.”

Logan also told the dean of the school she attended of the abuse. The dean believed Logan and relayed her complaint to another official at the school.

But nothing happened, according to the Post, and the teacher remained as a staff member at the school:

“Dave Beskar remained at Trinity School at River Ridge until 2011, when he was hired to lead a charter school in Arizona. In 2015, he returned to the Minneapolis area to become headmaster of another Christian school. Beskar denies that any inappropriate sexual activity took place.”

Logan, who is now 37, says despite her warnings, People of Praise swept her complaint under the rug:

“People of Praise leaders failed me. I think they wanted to protect themselves more than they wanted to protect me and other girls.”

Members of a Facebook support group, “PoP Survivors” also allege they were abused by staffers at schools run by the religious organization:

“The Post interviewed nine people in the Facebook group — all but one of them women — who said they were sexually abused as children, as well as anotherman who says he was physically abused. In four of those cases, the people said the alleged abuse was reported to community leaders.”

Justice Barrett, it turns out, was raised in a People of Praise community in Louisiana and remains active in the South Bend, Indiana, branch of the group.

Though her involvement in the group never came up during her Supreme Court confirmation, Barrett was asked about her religious beliefs when she was nominated to the federal appeals court. She said then:

“It’s never appropriate for a judge to impose that judge’s personal convictions, whether they derive from faith or anywhere else, on the law.”

Men are in control of the decisions made inside People of Praise. The group is led by an all-male board of governors and husbands usually make all the decisions for their wives and children. Wives are not permitted to “take over” for the husbands when it comes to decision making.

Despite the allegations against members of the group, Craig Lent, chairman of the religious group’s board of governors, issued a statement which reads:

“People of Praise has always put the safety of children far above any reputational concerns.”

However, Lent refused to answer any written questions from the Post.