The Democratic senator who suggested that the federal government <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sheldon-whitehouse-suggests-fbi-shouldnt-investigate-supreme-court-leaker" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not investigate</a> who leaked Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade — citing &#8220;separation of powers&#8221; — is now pressuring Chief Justice John Roberts with an ethics complaint targeting Alito concerning congressional investigations into the Court.
Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act in July.
Alito, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/samuel-alito-the-supreme-courts-plain-spoken-defender-precedent-ethics-originalism-5e3e9a7?st=4765zed61auy3j2&amp;reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink" target="_blank" rel="noopener">speaking</a> to The Wall Street Journal, said he and the other justices on the court voluntarily followed disclosure statutes that applied to lower-court judges and executive-branch officials. He noted, “Congress did not create the Supreme Court”— the Constitution did — adding, “I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it. No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period.”
In a <a href="https://thehill.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/09/2023-09-04-Complaint-from-Sen.-Whitehouse-Enclosure.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seven-page letter</a> to Roberts, Whitehouse complained, “As the author of the bill in question and as a participant in the related investigations, I feel acutely the targeting of this work by Justice Alito, and consider it more than just misguided or accidental general opining. It is directed to my work.”
“The Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation encompasses reports that Justice Alito accepted but did not disclose gifts of travel and lodging valued in the tens of thousands of dollars,” Whitehouse wrote, likely referring to a report from the left-leaning group Pro Publica. “Further investigation may reveal additional information that Justice Alito would prefer not come to light. The facts as already reported suggest that Justice Alito likely violated the financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act.”
Alito fired back at the Pro Publica claims in June, writing in <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/propublica-misleads-its-readers-alito-gifts-disclosure-alaska-singer-23b51eda" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Wall Street Journal</a>, “When I joined the Court and until the recent amendment of the filing instructions, justices commonly interpreted this discussion of ‘hospitality’ to mean that accommodations and transportation for social events were not reportable gifts. The flight to Alaska was the only occasion when I have accepted transportation for a purely social event, and in doing so I followed what I understood to be standard practice.”
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrat-senator-sheldon-whitehouse-faces-backlash-over-membership-to-all-white-club">RELATED: Dem Sen Whitehouse Faces Backlash Over Membership To Alleged All-White Club</a>
After the draft of Alito’s opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade was leaked, causing a national furor, Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy contended that the leaker should be fired, disbarred, and prosecuted.
Whitehouse responded by suggesting that the FBI should not be investigating the matter, saying, “It&#8217;s an interesting separation of powers question why FBI agents from the executive branch would be running around within the Supreme Court, interviewing clerks and staff and justices themselves, if it’s not appropriate for Congress to exercise its legislative powers with regard to those standards.”
But in his complaint to the Supreme Court, Whitehouse appeared to use a reverse of the argument, condemning Justice Alito’s statement in an interview that “[n]o provision in the Constitution gives [Congress] the authority to regulate the Supreme Court, period.&#8221; Whitehouse wrote, &#8220;Those arguments assert (in my view wrongly) that our constitutional separation of powers blocks any congressional action in this area, which in turn is asserted (also wrongly, in my view) to block any congressional investigation.&#8221;

Supreme Court Justice Alito Gives Talk At Georgetown Law School

Dem Senator Who Argued Against Investigating Leak Of Alito’s Roe Draft Targets Alito

Roe v. Wade's Long And Brutal Legacy

Samuel Alito

Sheldon Whitehouse

Supreme Court

WASHINGTON — Democratic Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse suggested Tuesday that the person who leaked the Supreme Court draft opinion on Roe v. Wade should not be subject to a federal investigation.
The Rhode Island senator weighed in on the leaker during a hearing on &#8220;Transparency and Accountability for 21st Century Courts,&#8221; following a Monday evening <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/05/02/supreme-court-abortion-draft-opinion-00029473">report</a> exposing a draft opinion from Justice Thomas Alito in which the justice delivered an “unflinching repudiation” of Roe v. Wade.
Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy warned during the hearing that the leaker should be fired, disbarred, and prosecuted.
&#8220;That person also has a pretty difficult decision make in the next few days,&#8221; Kennedy said. &#8220;I believe I’m accurate in suggesting that every person who had access to this document, that they leaked, that was leaked, is going to get a visit by the FBI. And the person who leaked this document is gonna have to either tell the truth or lie to an FBI agent, which subjects them to criminal prosecution.&#8221;
&#8220;So, let’s hope that our Department of Justice does its job and at least in a small way, tries to restore a little bit of integrity that this, this misguided zealot, who leaked this document, took away from the American people,&#8221; he added.
Whitehouse responded by suggesting that the FBI should not be investigating the matter.
&#8220;It&#8217;s an interesting separation of powers question,&#8221; Whitehouse responded, &#8220;why FBI agents from the executive branch would be running around within the Supreme Court, interviewing clerks and staff and justices themselves, if it’s not appropriate for Congress to exercise its legislative powers with regard to those standards.&#8221;
Kennedy told Whitehouse that the United States Supreme Court has its own police force, saying, &#8220;I don’t think it’s at all uncommon to have police forces cooperate.&#8221;
&#8220;What I hope happens&#8230;is that that the authorities at the Department of Justice, who I believe will be called in, should be called in, put the full force and power of their agency to find out who leaked this document, and to prosecute that person civilly and criminally to the full extent of the law,&#8221; Kennedy said.
&#8220;I don’t care who it is, I don’t care what the politics is,&#8221; Kennedy added. &#8220;This isn&#8217;t right.&#8221;
&#8220;I guess we’ll begin by trying to identify what law that person might have violated,&#8221; Whitehouse responded.
WATCH:
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Sheldon Whitehouse: FBI Shouldn&#039;t Investigate Supreme Court Leaker" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xEUdpnev9U4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Shortly after the conversation between the senators, Chief Justice John Roberts <a href="https://www.axios.com/justice-roberts-abortion-leak-da48f1b2-087f-4a43-b037-068be226ce2c.html?stream=top&amp;utm_source=alert&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=alerts_all">released</a> a statement confirming that the draft document is real but emphasizing that it did not represent the Supreme Court&#8217;s final decision.
&#8220;We at the Court are blessed to have a workforce — permanent employees and law clerks alike — intensely loyal to the institution and dedicated to the rule of law,&#8221; the chief justice said.
&#8220;This was a singular and egregious breach of that trust that is an affront to the Court and the community of public servants who work here,&#8221; he added, noting that he has &#8220;directed the Marshal of the Court to launch an investigation into the source of the leak.&#8221;

Screen Shot 2022-05-03 at 11.58.01 AM

Sheldon Whitehouse Suggests FBI Shouldn’t Investigate Supreme Court Leaker

Sheldon Whitehouse Suggests FBI Shouldn't Investigate SCOTUS Leaker

Abortion

John Kennedy

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) defended his affiliation with an exclusive club on Monday, telling reporters that he believes the journalist who described the club to him as having “all white” membership was likely incorrect. 
“I think they got the facts wrong,” Whitehouse <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sheldon-whitehouse-baileys-beach-club-rhode-island/">told</a> Capitol Hill reporters on Monday evening, also adding, the club &#8220;informs me that it does, in fact, have diversity&#8221; in its membership, CBS News reported. In a separate statement, a spokesperson for Whitehouse told The Washington Post that the club doesn&#8217;t restrict membership by race and &#8220;has had and has members of color.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
“The club informs me that it does in fact have diversity in membership,” Whitehouse said
He reiterated that he no longer belongs to the club, but he has family who continue to have a membership there.
— Ali Zaslav (@alizaslav) <a href="https://twitter.com/alizaslav/status/1407092922286231554?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On June 23, the beach club also referred to the allegations about it in the media as false.
“Recent characterizations in the press and in other commentary about Baileys Beach Club are inaccurate and false,” the club told 12 News in a statement, <a href="https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/east-bay/baileys-beach-club-says-accusations-of-all-white-membership-are-inaccurate-and-false/">reports</a> WPRI.
“Over many years, Club members and their families have included people of many racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds from around the world who come to Newport every summer,” said the statement. “Our membership comes from all over the globe to our small club and we welcome the diversity of view and background they bring to our community.”
The Rhode Island senator’s response comes days after his exchange with a local reporter, who asked him about his family’s affiliation with Bailey&#8217;s Beach House. In a video of the exchange, the exclusive club, formally known as Spouting Rock Beach Association, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-rhode-island-all-white-club-whitehouse/2021/06/21/95018cd8-d2b7-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html">according</a> to The Washington Post, was described by the reporter as “all white.&#8221;
<blockquote>REPORTER: Back in 2017, you had expressed concerns about the membership of the all white Baily’s Beach Club, you said that you hoped it would become more diverse. Now your family’s been members, your wife is one of the largest shareholders. Has there been any traction in that? Are there any minority members of the club now?
WHITEHOUSE: I think the people who are running the place are still working on that. And I’m sorry, it hasn’t happened yet.
REPORTER: Do you have concerns in 2021? I mean, obviously, it’s been four years, you had remarks on the floor following the death of Briana Taylor and George Floyd saying, you know, hoping to root out systemic racism in the country. Your thoughts on an elite all white wealthy club again in this day and age, you know, should these clubs continue to exist?
WHITEHOUSE: It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island and there are many of them. And I think we just need to work our way through the issues. Thank you.</blockquote>
Whitehouse said Monday he didn&#8217;t mean to suggest his &#8220;long tradition&#8221; comment was a response to the reporter&#8217;s &#8220;all white&#8221; remark, per <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/sen-whitehouse-defends-membership-private-beach-club-s-allegedly-all-n1271723">NBC News</a>. Rather, Whitehouse says he was referring to the &#8220;long tradition of it being a family run club,&#8221; of which he said there are many in Rhode Island.
&#8220;Both Whitehouse and his wife Sandra as well as their families have been members of the club for decades,&#8221; reported <a href="https://www.golocalprov.com/news/its-a-long-tradition-in-ri-whitehouse-defends-familys-membership-in-all-whi">GoLocalProv</a>, the local news outlet that first reported the story. &#8220;Whitehouse did transfer his shares in the club to his wife years ago, and she is now one of the largest shareholders in the all-white club. The club&#8217;s membership is a who&#8217;s who [of] Newport, Palm Beach, and New York wealth.&#8221;
This article has been updated to include comment from the beach club.

Senate Holds Confirmation Hearing For Amy Coney Barrett To Be Supreme Court Justice

Sen. Whitehouse Disputes ‘All-White’ Club Characterization: ‘I Think They Got The Facts Wrong’

Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) faced backlash after he defended belonging to an allegedly &#8220;all-white&#8221; private beach club in Rhode Island last week right before Juneteenth.
&#8220;Both Whitehouse and his wife Sandra as well as their families have been members of [the all-white private Bailey’s Beach Club in Newport] for decades,&#8221; GoLocalProv <a href="https://www.golocalprov.com/news/its-a-long-tradition-in-ri-whitehouse-defends-familys-membership-in-all-whi">reported</a>. &#8220;Whitehouse did transfer his shares in the club to his wife years ago, and she is now one of the largest shareholders in the all-white club. The club&#8217;s membership is a who&#8217;s who Newport, Palm Beach, and New York wealth.&#8221;
Whitehouse defended his membership in the alleged all-white club when confronted by a reporter on Friday, saying that it was &#8220;a long tradition in Rhode Island.&#8221; A spokesperson for Whitehouse also told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-rhode-island-all-white-club-whitehouse/2021/06/21/95018cd8-d2b7-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html">The Washington Post</a> that the club does not restrict membership on the basis of race, and &#8220;has had and has members of color.&#8221;
On June 23, the beach club called the media reports about it inaccurate.
“Recent characterizations in the press and in other commentary about Baileys Beach Club are inaccurate and false,” the club told 12 News in a statement, <a href="https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/east-bay/baileys-beach-club-says-accusations-of-all-white-membership-are-inaccurate-and-false/">reports</a> WPRI.
“Over many years, Club members and their families have included people of many racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds from around the world who come to Newport every summer,” said the statement. “Our membership comes from all over the globe to our small club and we welcome the diversity of view and background they bring to our community.”
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sen-whitehouse-disputes-all-white-club-characterization-i-think-they-got-the-facts-wrong">Sen. Whitehouse Disputes ‘All-White’ Club Characterization: ‘I Think They Got The Facts Wrong’</a>
Whitehouse had the following interaction with the reporter on Friday:
<blockquote>REPORTER: Back in 2017, you had expressed concerns about the membership of the all white Bally&#8217;s Beach Club, you said that you hoped it would become more diverse. Now your family&#8217;s been members, your wife is one of the largest shareholders. Has there been any traction in that? Are there any minority members of the club now?
WHITEHOUSE: I think the people who are running the place are still working on that. And I&#8217;m sorry, it hasn&#8217;t happened yet.
REPORTER: Do you have concerns in 2021? I mean, obviously, it&#8217;s been four years, you had remarks on the floor following the death of Briana Taylor and George Floyd saying, you know, hoping to root out systemic racism in the country. Your thoughts on an elite all white wealthy club again in this day and age, you know, should these clubs continue to exist?
WHITEHOUSE: It&#8217;s a long tradition in Rhode Island and there are many of them. And I think we just need to work our way through the issues. Thank you.</blockquote>
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
WATCH: Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse defends belonging to a whites-only beach club.
“It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island.”
Disgusting! <a href="https://t.co/mtW1b5tfuJ">pic.twitter.com/mtW1b5tfuJ</a>
&mdash; RNC Research (@RNCResearch) <a href="https://twitter.com/RNCResearch/status/1406994930615177220?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 21, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Whitehouse was slammed online by commentators from across the political spectrum.
&#8220;Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is a member of a whites-only beach club, the Gov of Virginia either wore black face or a Ku Klux Klan robe, and Joe Biden said he didn’t want his kids to grow up in a racial jungle,&#8221; Fox News contributor Lisa Boothe <a href="https://twitter.com/LisaMarieBoothe/status/1407032172142370818">said</a>. &#8220;But Democrats want to lecture about racism in America …&#8221;
&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t exactly say Sen. Whitehouse seems particularly concerned or even interested about the fact he continues to belong an all-white club (which his wife owns a large part of),&#8221; leftist Glenn Greenwald <a href="https://twitter.com/ggreenwald/status/1406989478519095300">said</a>. &#8220;As always, judge a person by the acts that compose their life, not the public rhetoric they spew.&#8221;
&#8220;So Dem senators defend their all-white private beach clubs,&#8221; Newsmax host Steve Cortes <a href="https://twitter.com/CortesSteve/status/1406975610841350146">said</a>. &#8220;But we America First nationalists — we’re the racists — for insisting on protecting the American working class (much of which is black and brown citizens) against illegal immigrant workers?&#8221;
Former White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller <a href="https://twitter.com/StephenM/status/1407038912011423750">said</a>, &#8220;Nothing is preventing @SenWhitehouse from voluntarily giving up his membership in favor of a deserving minority family—unless Whitehouse believes he’s entitled to his membership in a private beach club?&#8221;
This article has been updated to include comment from the beach club.

Senate Judiciary Committee TW POOL

Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse Faces Backlash Over Membership To Alleged All-White Club

Racism

On Friday, Rhode Island Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse — who had slammed former President Trump for “toiling to deepen the fault lines in American life” and claimed, “We can and must do better to root out systemic racism in its many forms and meet America’s full promise of justice for all” — was asked about his membership in what a reporter referred to as an all-white private Bailey’s Beach Club in Newport, Rhode Island.
Whitehouse had told GoLocal’s News Editor Kate Nagle in 2017, “I think it would be nice if they (Bailey’s Beach Club) changed a little bit, but it&#8217;s not my position,” then was questioned whether he would urge the club to push for diversity at the all-white club. He answered, “I will take that up privately.”
On Friday, GoLocal <a href="https://www.golocalprov.com/news/its-a-long-tradition-in-ri-whitehouse-defends-familys-membership-in-all-whi">caught up</a> with Whitehouse again, this time asking, “Back in 2017, you had expressed concerns about the membership of the all-white Bailey’s Beach Club. You said that you hoped it would become more diverse. Now, your family’s been members; your wife is one of the largest shareholders. Has there been any traction in that? Are there any minority members of the club now?”
“I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,” Whitehouse replied.
On June 23, however, the beach club referred to the allegations about it in the media as false.
“Recent characterizations in the press and in other commentary about Baileys Beach Club are inaccurate and false,” the club told 12 News in a statement, <a href="https://www.wpri.com/news/local-news/east-bay/baileys-beach-club-says-accusations-of-all-white-membership-are-inaccurate-and-false/">reports</a> WPRI.
“Over many years, Club members and their families have included people of many racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds from around the world who come to Newport every summer,” said the statement. “Our membership comes from all over the globe to our small club and we welcome the diversity of view and background they bring to our community.”
A spokesperson for Whitehouse also told the Washington Post on Monday that the club does not restrict membership on the basis of race, and &#8220;has had and has members of color.&#8221; The spokesperson also disputed that Whitehouse is still a member of the club, but said that his wife is a member.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sen-whitehouse-disputes-all-white-club-characterization-i-think-they-got-the-facts-wrong">Sen. Whitehouse Disputes ‘All-White’ Club Characterization: ‘I Think They Got The Facts Wrong’</a>
During the interaction Friday, GoLocal pressed, “Do you have concerns in 2021? Obviously, it’s been four years; you had remarks on the floor following the death of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, saying, hoping to root out systemic racism in the country. Your thoughts on an elite, all-white, wealthy club, again, in this day and age: should these clubs continue to exist?”
“It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island and there are many of them,” Whitehouse replied. “I think we just need to work our way through the issues.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D) defends his membership at an all-white private beach club
“It’s a long tradition in Rhode Island” <a href="https://t.co/Rz2PshR20q">pic.twitter.com/Rz2PshR20q</a>
&mdash; Jewish Deplorable (@TrumpJew2) <a href="https://twitter.com/TrumpJew2/status/1406666409061519368?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 20, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
On June 4, 2020, Whitehouse issued a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-marks-moment-of-silence-for-george-floyd-breonna-taylor-and-ahmaud-arbery">statement</a> accusing Trump of &#8220;deepening&#8221; racial divisions:
<blockquote>Our country is at a crossroads. A nation reeling from a pandemic and an economic catastrophe that have disproportionately affected communities of color is mourning the tragic deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and so many others. All the while, President Trump is toiling to deepen the fault lines in American life. We hear the voices of the peaceful protestors who have marched.  We can and must do better to root out systemic racism in its many forms and meet America’s full promise of justice for all.</blockquote>
“Both Whitehouse and his wife Sandra as well as their families have been members of the club for decades. Whitehouse did transfer his shares in the club to his wife years ago, and she is now one of the largest shareholders in the all-white club. The club&#8217;s membership is a who&#8217;s who Newport, Palm Beach, and New York wealth,” Go Local noted, adding, “Bailey’s Beach Club is not an average private club — it has been described as the most exclusive club in America.”
This article has been revised for clarity and updated to include comment from the beach club and additional comment from Whitehouse&#8217;s team. The title has been amended.

Senate Budget Committee Holds Hearing On Poverty Wages At Corporations

Dem Senator Claimed Systemic Racism, Ripped Trump. He’s Still Member Of Alleged All-White Private Exclusive Club.

Donald Trump

Systemic Racism

During the confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination for the Supreme Court, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who argued plenty of cases before that august body, lacerated the accusations Democrat Rhode Island Senator Sheldon Whitehouse made at the hearings just prior to Cruz in which Whitehouse articulated a labyrinthine conspiracy theory involving Barrett’s nomination and so-called “dark money.”
Cruz pointed out that the substantial majority of “dark money” went to Democrats in the last presidential election, blasting Whitehouse with facts, then added that Wall Street and Fortune 500 companies had donated far more money to Joe Biden then President Trump for 2020.
Cruz then turned to the case of Citizens United, which revolved around a movie criticizing Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration’s determination to ban it, to make the point that unlike Hillary Clinton, who had said in her run for the presidency that any judge she nominated for the Supreme Court would have to promise to overturn the case, the Trump administration had not asked Barrett to commit to any decision on any case when President Trump nominated her.
Cruz stated, “How about free speech? Well, we’ve heard quite a bit about free speech. The senator from Rhode Island just gave a long presentation, complete with lots of charts. I’ll say a couple of things on free speech. First of all, our Democratic colleagues, when they address the issue of so-called ‘dark money’ in campaign finance contributions, are often deeply, deeply hypocritical and don’t address the actual facts that exist.”
“Here are some facts: of the top twenty organizations spending money for political speech in the year 2016, fourteen of them gave virtually all their money to Democrats and another three split their money evenly, so only three of the top 20 gave money to Republicans,” Cruz fired. “What did that mean in practice? That meant the top 20 super-PAC donors contributed $422 million dollars to Democrats and $189 million to Republicans. Those who give these impassioned speeches against ‘dark money’ don’t mention that their side is funded by ‘dark money’ with a massive differential. The senator from Rhode Island talked about ‘big corporate powers’ without acknowledging that the contributions from the Fortune 500 in this presidential election overwhelmingly favor Joe Biden and the Democrats. Without acknowledging that the contributions from Wall Street in this election overwhelmingly favor Joe Biden and the Democrats.”
“It’s an awful lot of rhetoric about power,” Cruz continued. “But it gets even more interesting when you look at Supreme Court nominations. We just heard an attack on the Federalist Society, a group that I&#8217;ve been a member of for over 25 years &#8212; I joined as a law student. It&#8217;s a group that brings conservatives, libertarians, constitutionalists together to have robust discussions about the constitution and about the law. What&#8217;s interesting is nowhere in the senator of Rhode Island&#8217;s remarks was any reference to a company called Arabella Advisors, which is a for-profit entity that manages non-profits, including the 1630 Fund and the New Venture Fund.”
“Now what on Earth are those?” Cruz asked. “Those sound like awfully dark and confusing names.  Well, according to The Wall Street Journal this Sunday, in the years 2017 and 2018, those entities reported $987.5 million in revenue.  That&#8217;s nearly a billion dollars.  We heard a lot of thundering indignation at what was described as $250 million of expenditures.  In this case, you&#8217;ve got a billion dollars.  The senator of Rhode Island said that that much money, much of which is dark money that we don&#8217;t know who contributed it, he asked, ‘What are they getting for it?’  And by the way, one of the things they&#8217;re getting for it is a group called Demand Justice, a project of those entities.  Spent $5 million opposing Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and has just launched a seven-figure ad buy opposing your confirmation.”
“So all of the great umbrage about the corporate interests that are spending dark money is wildly in conflict with the actual facts that the corporate interests that are spending dark money are funding the Democrats by a factor of 3 to 1 or greater,” Cruz explained. “A fact that doesn&#8217;t ever seem to be acknowledged.  But not only that.  What was Citizens United about?  You know, it&#8217;s interesting, most people at home, they&#8217;ve heard about Citizens United.  They know it makes Democrats very very upset.”
“Citizens United concerned whether or not it was legal to make a movie criticizing a politician,” Cruz stated. “Specifically, Citizens United is a small non-profit organization based here in D.C. that made a movie that was critical of Hillary Clinton. And the Obama Justice Department took the position that it could fine, it could punish Citizens United for daring to make a movie critical of a politician. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. At the oral argument, there was a moment that was truly chilling: Justice Sam Alito asked the Obama Justice Department, ‘Is it your position under your theory of the case, that the federal government can ban books?’ And the Obama Justice Department responded, yes. Yes, it is our position that if the books criticize a political candidate, a politician, the federal government can ban books.”
“As far as I’m concerned that is a terrifying view of the First Amendment,” Cruz asserted. “Citizens United was decided five to four. By a narrow five to four majority, the Supreme Court concluded that the First Amendment did not allow the federal government to punish you for making a movie critical of a politician. And likewise, that the federal government couldn’t ban books. Four justices dissented. Four justices were willing to say that the federal government can ban movies and presumably could ban books as well.”
Cruz concluded, “When Hillary Clinton was running for president she explicitly promised every justice she nominated to the court would pledge to overturn Citizens United. By the way, Hillary Clinton said she would demand of her nominees something you have rightly said that this administration has not demanded of you, which is a commitment on any case as to how you will rule. Democrats have shown no compunction in expecting their nominees to make a promise, “Here&#8217;s how I&#8217;m going to vote on a pending case, judicial ethics be damned.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
After mentioning Demand Justice, <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TedCruz</a> drops this MOAB: &quot;So all of the great umbrage about the corporate interest that are spending dark money is wildly in conflict with the actual facts that the corporate interests that are spending dark money are funding the Democrats.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/RYTXb5jYAa">pic.twitter.com/RYTXb5jYAa</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1316071226494902274?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Before moving onto <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/2A?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#2A</a>, <a href="https://twitter.com/tedcruz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TedCruz</a> talks about the Ginsburg rule of a nominee not commenting on possible cases: &quot;Democrats have shown no compunction in expecting their nominees to make a promise, &#39;here&#39;s how I&#39;m going to vote on a pending case,&#39; judicial ethics be damned.&quot; (4/4) <a href="https://t.co/cRN2pHzym0">pic.twitter.com/cRN2pHzym0</a>
&mdash; Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) <a href="https://twitter.com/CurtisHouck/status/1316073362079219712?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

WATCH: Cruz Blasts Dem Senator’s Conspiracy Theory About Barrett’s Nomination

Amy Coney Barrett

Hillary Clinton

Ted Cruz

On Tuesday, during the confirmation hearings for Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, Rhode Island Democratic senator and ardent leftist Sheldon Whitehouse spent his entire allotted time not asking Barrett any pertinent questions, but mansplaining his bizarre conspiracy theory that “dark money” was behind Barrett’s nomination as spoke mysteriously about “forces outside of this room.”
As Whitehouse neared the end of his harangue, the expression on Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham was absolutely priceless:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
We are all Lindsey Graham <a href="https://t.co/U5Q2cWJodd">pic.twitter.com/U5Q2cWJodd</a>
&mdash; Kylee Zempel (@kyleezempel) <a href="https://twitter.com/kyleezempel/status/1316064673087787008?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Whitehouse theorized that audiences watching the confirmation hearing on their “little TV box” were watching through the frame of a “puppet theater” and didn’t understand the “whole story” and the “real dynamic” of “what is going on here. And you’re certainly not going to understand forces outside of this room who are pulling strings and pushing sticks and causing the puppet theater to react.”
Whitehouse said conspiratorially, “We have colleagues here who supported you, this nominee, before there was a nominee. That’s a little unusual.”
After citing various GOP senators’ comments during the Merrick Garland nomination to the Supreme Court out of context, Whitehouse said in hushed tones, “When you find hypocrisy in the daylight, look for power in the shadows.”
Hilariously, Whitehouse, a member of the same party that has often run to the courts to achieve their goals when they fail legislatively, whined of the GOP, “Why is it surprising to be concerned that you want this nominee to do what you want nominees to do?”
Whitehouse segued back to conspiracy theories by brandishing a sign reading, “The scheme.” He said darkly, “In all cases, there’s big anonymous money behind various lanes of activity.” He then targeted The Federalist Society before he cited the Judicial Crisis Network, revealing what he apparently assumed was terrifying information that they had run PR and campaign ads for GOP judicial nominees and that they had received multi-million-dollar funding. He then turned to a range of groups “funded by dark money.”
“What’s behind is is now 80 cases, Mr. Chairman, 80 cases under Chief Justice Roberts, that have these characteristics: one: they were decided 5-4 by a bare majority, two: the 5-4 majority was partisan, in the sense that not one Democrat appointee joined the five,” Whitehouse continued. “I refer to that group as the ‘Roberts 5.’ It changes a little bit, as with Justice Scalia’s death, for instance, but there’s been a steady ‘Roberts 5’ that has delivered now 80 of these decisions. And the last characteristic of them is that there’s an identifiable Republican donor interest in those cases, and in every single case that donor interest won. It was an 80-0, five to four partisan rout. Ransacking.”
At that point, Graham expressed his disgust facially in no uncertain terms.
Whitehouse&#8217;s penchant for accusing the GOP of being controlled by dark money is nothing new; as RealClearPolitics (RCP) <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2020/07/21/sen_whitehouses_dark-money_dilemma_143758.html">noted</a> in July, &#8220;The Rhode Island senator apparently sees no contradiction in giving speeches to liberal groups that accept money from secret Democratic donors, as he did last week, telling the audience that GOP dark money is undermining the U.S. judiciary and the rule of law. Additionally, Whitehouse told a reporter last year he would accept donations from liberal dark-money groups.&#8221;
&#8220;Whitehouse earlier this month trashed the judicial nominating process during Trump’s time in office as &#8216;rigged,'&#8221; RCP continued. &#8220;He argued that Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh won confirmation because they were backed by a sophisticated, campaign-style &#8216;dark-money&#8217; advertising &#8216;scheme&#8217; funded by corporations and deep-pocketed GOP donors.&#8221;

WATCH: Lindsey Graham’s Priceless Reaction As Dem Senator Mansplains Bizarre Conspiracy Theory To Amy Coney Barrett

Lindsey Graham

Brett Kavanaugh has been a Supreme Court justice for nearly two years, yet one Democratic senator is still trying to convince people that the judge is a sexual abuser.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) helped elevate one of many dubious claims of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Now, two years later, he has reportedly claimed that the FBI ran a “fake” tip line during the time it claimed to be investigating Kavanaugh.
The Washington Free Beacon’s Kevin Daley <a href="https://freebeacon.com/democrats/democratic-senator-claims-without-evidence-that-the-fbi-ran-fake-kavanaugh-tip-line-during-confirmation-battle/">reported</a> that Whitehouse made the evidence-free claim during a Zoom conference call with an Ohio chapter of the American Constitution Society, described as a progressive judicial group.
“Three attendees told the Washington Free Beacon that Whitehouse twice asserted that the FBI operated a ‘fake’ tip line while purporting to investigate the justice,” Daley reported.
More from the Free Beacon:
<blockquote>Mike Davis, formerly a top lawyer to then-Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), denied any such wrongdoing on the part of the FBI. Davis now leads an outside group that supports President Donald Trump&#8217;s judicial nominees.
&#8220;Senator Whitehouse needs to get his head checked,&#8221; Davis told the Free Beacon. &#8220;Like all other senators, Whitehouse had access to the FBI&#8217;s printed reports with detailed summaries of the tips it received. These FBI reports were provided to the Senate as part of the FBI&#8217;s supplement (7th) background investigation of Justice Kavanaugh&#8217;s character and fitness over his 25+ years in public service.&#8221;
The ACS told the Free Beacon that video of the event will not be available, and the senator&#8217;s office did not reply to the Free Beacon‘s requests for comment. The FBI declined to comment.</blockquote>
This is not the first dubious claim from Whitehouse, Daley noted. Whitehouse passed along a blatantly false allegation of sexual assault against Kavanaugh during the investigation into dubious claims made by Christine Blasey Ford. Ford claimed that at some point in the early or mid-80s (her story changed in the decades since the alleged incident), Kavanaugh groped her at a party when they were both in high school. There’s no evidence the two individuals were ever even in the same room together, that Democrats and their media supporters claimed Ford’s allegations were “credible.” Once Ford made her allegations and began receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars online, other, even more incredible claims of decades-old misconduct against Kavanaugh appeared.
One of the false claims was from Jeffrey Catalan, who reached out to Whitehouse’s office. Catalan claimed Kavanaugh assaulted an unnamed woman on a boat in Newport, Rhode Island, at some point decades ago. Catalan eventually recanted the claim and said it was fake, yet Whitehouse said the fraudster was owed an apology.
&#8220;They&#8217;re trying to throw him under the bus, I think as a demonstration that other people who come forward will be treated very roughly,&#8221; Whitehouse said at the time.
Whitehouse also attempted to paint Kavanaugh as an indebted gambler during his confirmation hearings, providing no evidence to back up his assertions. Kavanaugh denied the allegations, and to date no evidence has surfaced to say otherwise.

Brett kavanaugh

Democrat Senator Still Trying To Take Down Kavanaugh, Now Claims FBI Ran ‘Fake’ Tip Line During Confirmation

Brett Kavanaugh

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) criticized a handful of Senate Democrats on Sunday after the five lawmakers threatened to expand the Supreme Court if they did not get their way.
&#8220;This has been a dream of the left for decades — to increase the number of judges on the court, pack them with liberal judges so the court can do, through the legal system, what they can’t do through the ballot box,&#8221; Graham told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo when asked about an amicus brief that Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) filed last week.
<div class="embed video fluid-video">Watch the latest video at <a data-scayt-word="href" data-wsc-lang="en_US">href=&#8221;https://www.foxnews.com&#8221;&gt;foxnews.com</a></div>
&#8220;The dream of every leftist is to have a liberal court enacting laws from the bench,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;The dream of every conservative is to have judges who will interpret the law, not make the law.&#8221;
Graham’s remarks were in response to <a href="https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/New%20York%20Rifle%20&amp;%20Pistol%20Association%20v.%20New%20York%20(Whitehouse%20amicus%20FINAL).pdf">an amicus brief</a> that the aforementioned lawmakers filed only days earlier. The legal document warns the nine justices that they if they do not drop a New York firearms case that the court has agreed to review, than they will be faced with public backlash and subsequent restructuring.
Whitehouse unapologetically told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/courts_law/warning-or-threat-democrats-ignite-controversy-with-supreme-court-brief-in-gun-case/2019/08/16/2ec96ef0-c039-11e9-9b73-fd3c65ef8f9c_story.html">The Washington Post</a> that he was cautioning the Supreme Court, not threatening the institution.
&#8220;When you hear &#8216;expanding the court,&#8217; that&#8217;s code for liberals packing the court,&#8221; Graham said. &#8220;Over my dead body, it&#8217;s not going to happen.&#8221;
Graham chairs the Senate Judiciary, which is tasked with considering executive nominations, including judicial nominations. While serving as a rank-and-file member of the committee in 2018, he was instrumental in Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court.
&#8220;When they want to do away with [the] electoral college, that&#8217;s telling every rural American to go to hell,&#8221; Graham said. &#8220;That would mean that Los Angeles and New York would decide who is the president. The electoral college allows rural Americans to have a say about picking the president.&#8221;
&#8220;So, they accuse [President] Donald Trump of changing our system — they&#8217;re the ones that are turning it upside down because they can&#8217;t win under the current construct,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;So, this idea of packing the court has been a dream of the left forever and we&#8217;re not going to let it happen.&#8221;
Though Democrats have long been proposing to exert their congressional powers in order to increase the number of Justices that would sit on the Supreme Court at one time, Democrats&#8217; calls for &#8220;court-packing&#8221; have increased since Trump got elected to office in 2016.
The majority of Democratic presidential candidates running in the upcoming election cycle have advocated for expanding the court, including South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Kamala Harris (D-CA), former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX), and Gillibrand, who signed the recent amicus brief.
The two frontrunners, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), however, both have come out against any form of court-packing.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) seen speaking during the

WATCH: Lindsey Graham Rails Against Democrats’ Threat To Pack The Courts: ‘Over My Dead Body’

On Tuesday morning, a false allegation of rape launched against Judge Brett Kavanaugh was phoned into the office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), which passed it on to the Judiciary Committee. On Wednesday, only hours after the media jumped on the story, the man reportedly responsible for the allegations recanted his accusations, tweeting, &#8220;Do (sic) everyone who is going crazy about what I had said I have recanted because I have made a mistake and apologize for such mistake.&#8221;
Both <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/408666-kavanaugh-questioned-about-rhode-island-sexual-assault-allegation">The Hill</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/26/politics/brett-kavanaugh-allegations/index.html">CNN</a> ran with the story. The allegations stated that a rape occurred on a boat in 1985, and that a &#8220;close acquaintance&#8221; of a Rhode Island constituent &#8220;was sexually assaulted by two heavily inebriated men she referred to at the time as Brett and Mark.&#8221; That was an apparent reference to Kavanaugh and his friend Mark Judge. The apparent constituent of Whitehouse&#8217;s who made the phone call stated he realized that Kavanaugh was one of the men allegedly involved &#8220;when he saw Kavanaugh&#8217;s high school yearbook photo on television over the weekend.&#8221;
When the Judiciary Committee asked Kavanaugh about the Rhode Island allegation, he responded, &#8220;I was not in Newport, haven&#8217;t been on a boat in Newport. Not with Mark Judge on a boat, nor all those three things combined. This is just completely made up, or at least not me. I don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re referring to.&#8221;
Sure enough, as<a href="https://heavy.com/news/2018/09/jeffrey-catalan-newport-rhode-island-kavanaugh/"> Heavy</a> reported, &#8220;A Twitter account using the name Jeffrey Catalan has issued a recantation after a Senate transcript of an interview with Brett Kavanaugh indicated that the person with the Catalan Twitter account made one of the new accusations against Kavanaugh that were widely reported by major news outlets on September 26, 2018.&#8221; Heavy added, &#8220;The Senate Judiciary Committee redacted Catalan&#8217;s name and Twitter handle in the publicly released transcripts of its interviews with Kavanaugh. However, the transcripts that detail his accusation to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) contain verbatim quotes of tweets that still appeared on Catalan&#8217;s page as of September 26.&#8221;
The Catalan account, according to Heavy, &#8220;indicates its owner is from Tiverton, Rhode Island &#8230; He only has 19 followers and started tweeting in June 2018. The tweets are almost all angry rants against President Donald Trump (Example on July 1, 2018: &#8216;Hey fat man in the White house, you ever going to show your taxes. I think your a coward. Fat, lying, cheating and of low IQ president should watch he says.&#8217;)&#8221;
Even Sen. <a href="https://thehill.com/people/dick-durbin">Dick Durbin</a> (D-IL) has said that his staff dismisses some of the rumors that they get regarding Kavanaugh, stating, &#8220;Some of these are completely incredible and the staff dismisses it.&#8221;
But Whitehouse&#8217;s office passed the rape allegation to the Judiciary Committee.
Whitehouse has <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/20/politics/sheldon-whitehouse-brett-kavanaugh-cnntv/index.html">already threatened</a> that if the Democrats win the House in the November elections, they will launch their own investigation into Kavanaugh.

False Allegation Against Kavanaugh Passed To Judiciary Committee By Senator Threatening To Investigate Kavanaugh

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told CNN&#8217;s Jake Tapper on Thursday that &#8220;as soon as Democrats get gavels&#8221; they will launch investigations into Judge Brett Kavanaugh, even if he has already been confirmed to the Supreme Court.
&#8220;Well, first of all, there&#8217;s a factual dispute here which is that she said that young Kavanaugh molested and assaulted her, and he says that he didn&#8217;t,&#8221; Whitehouse said. &#8220;There was a witness in the room who has never been subjected to a proper investigative effort of any kind. He has not been interviewed. He&#8217;s never said anything under oath. There were supposedly other boys, there&#8217;s a whole investigative process that can and should take place.&#8221;
&#8220;And you know what? This is such bad practice that, even if they were to ram this guy through, as soon as Democrats get gavels, we&#8217;re going to want to get to the bottom of this,&#8221; Whitehouse continued. &#8220;You can&#8217;t ignore a crime victim&#8217;s claim that something happened, refuse to investigate, throw her up into the stand without the least bit of support for her, without the least bit of effort to corroborate what she says, and then walk away from that as if you&#8217;ve behaved at all properly. There isn&#8217;t a prosecutor or a victim advocate in the country who would tolerate that.&#8221;
&#8220;We&#8217;re out of time, but I want to make sure I understood what you just said,&#8221; Tapper responded. &#8220;If the Democrats win back the House and, or the Senate, Democrats will investigate what happened, the charges that Professor Ford is laying out, even if that means investigating a Supreme Court justice at the time?&#8221;
&#8220;I am confident of that,&#8221; Whitehouse declared. &#8220;And I think we&#8217;ll also be investigating why the FBI stood down its background investigation when this came up in this particular background.&#8221;
WATCH:
<div class="embed tweet">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) says if Democrats win this November that they will launch investigations into Brett Kavanaugh even if he has already been confirmed to the Supreme Court. <a href="https://t.co/ot9DAU7tsH">pic.twitter.com/ot9DAU7tsH</a>
&#8212; Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) <a href="https://twitter.com/RealSaavedra/status/1042895758347788289?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
</div>

Democrat Senator Reveals What They’ll Do To Kavanaugh If He’s Confirmed And They Win In November

Democratic Party

Democrats are still pretending they need more information before they can make a decision to vote against President Donald Trump&#8217;s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
More documents related to Kavanaugh have been released than any other Supreme Court nominee in history, but still the Left claims we don&#8217;t know enough. And after more than 20 hours of testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats sent a &#8220;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/11/politics/brett-kavanaugh-questions-senators/index.html">deluge</a>&#8221; of written follow-up questions, including 14 pages (36 questions) from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).
Whitehouse attempted to insinuate that Kavanaugh has a gambling problem, asking Kavanaugh if he has &#8220;ever reported a gambling loss to the IRS&#8221; or &#8220;sought treatment for a gambling addition.&#8221;
Naturally, the questions made the rounds on left-wing media websites like the Huffington Post and Salon. Kavanaugh submitted his answers to these questions Wednesday night. If you&#8217;re wondering, he answered &#8220;no&#8221; to all of Whitehouse&#8217;s insinuations.
For three of Whitehouse&#8217;s questions regarding gambling, Kavanaugh directed the senator to read his response to &#8220;Question 11,&#8221; which goes into some detail of the nominees reported debts.
In that response, Kavanaugh describes the assets he owns and where his income comes from &#8212; all standard. He discusses his financial disclosure forms and explains that forms only list ranges for debts, and that even though his range was between $60,000 and $200,000 for one year&#8217;s disclosure, that debt &#8220;was not close to the top of the ranges listed on the financial disclosure reports.&#8221; Kavanaugh then explained that he and his wife own an old house that requires lots of upkeep and repairs. He lists replacing multiple appliances, painting the interior and exterior, flood damage, mold removal, replacing the porches, fixing the roofs, and more. Those repairs would certainly run someone upwards of $60,000 or more.
Kavanaugh also explained his purchase of baseball tickets in more detail than we should have needed (the Left is REALLY fixated on this). He purchased four season tickets for the Washington Nationals each year for 12 years, as well as playoff packages for the four years the team made the playoffs. He would split games with his friends, who would pay him back for his tickets. Fascinating stuff.
Democrats are wondering how Kavanaugh was able to afford a reported $92,000 membership to a country club, and the nominee doesn&#8217;t explain in his answer to Question 11 how much exactly he paid for that membership, but he does say he didn&#8217;t receive a discount. He also explains earlier in this response that annual salaries for federal judges had a &#8220;significant&#8221; increase in the last few years, that he receives income from teaching law each year, and his wife is now receiving a salary as Town Manager of Section 5 of Chevy Chase, Maryland.
According to Bloomberg, federal judges on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where Kavanaugh currently serves, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-01-13/federal-judges-in-u-s-see-25-000-more-as-salary-freeze-falls">are paid $211,200 a year</a>. Kavanaugh also teaches full-term law courses at Ivy League universities, which may earn him an additional $100,000 a year. Add in his wife&#8217;s salary, which is likely in the upper five figures, and you&#8217;re looking at a couple who may be able to budget for a one-time expense of $92,000 and annual fees of $9,000.
Bottom line: Unless Whitehouse is able to provide documents refuting Kavanaugh&#8217;s answers on his alleged gambling, this was all a big nothingburger.

Menu