Anthony Kennedy should be investigated -was he bought off?

[avebury]

Given the reported ties between Anthony Kennedy and Trump/Kushner there should be a thorough investigation of Kennedy and his family to see whether or not his retirement was bought.

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/donald-trump-supreme-court-236925

“Say hello to your boy,” Trump said, “Special guy.” “Your kids have been very nice to him,” Kennedy replied. “Well,” Trump said, “they love him, and they love him in New York.”

One back channel is the fact that Kennedy’s son, Justin, knows Donald Trump Jr. through New York real estate circles. Another is through Kennedy’s other son, Gregory, and Trump’s Silicon Valley adviser Peter Thiel. They went to Stanford Law School together and served as president of the Federalist Society in back-to-back years, according to school records. More recently, Kennedy’s firm, Disruptive Technology Advisers, has worked with Thiel’s company Palantir Technologies.

In fact, during the early months of the Trump administration, Gregory Kennedy has worked at NASA as a senior financial adviser as part of the so-called “beachhead” team. Both Kennedy boys were spotted at the White House last month for the administration’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration (Justice Kennedy is Irish Catholic). In February, Ivanka Trump attended oral arguments of the Supreme Court with her daughter. She was a guest of Justice Kennedy.

====

https://medium.com/@gaberusk/the-kennedy-kushner-and-trump-connection-a-curious-conversation-and-a-business-deal-c81dd578ce83


Here’s what we know:
According the New York Times, in 2007 Kushner Companies purchased “an aluminum-clad office tower in Midtown Manhattan, for a record price of $1.8 billion.” At the time the NYT wrote that this deal was “considered a classic example of reckless underwriting. The transaction was so highly leveraged that the cash flow from rents amounted to only 65 percent of the debt service.” The Times continues:

“As many real estate specialists predicted, the deal ran into trouble. Instead of rising, rents declined as the recession took hold, and new leases were scarce. In 2010, the loan was transferred to a special servicer on the assumption that a default would occur once reserve funds being used to subsidize the shortfall were bled dry. But the story may yet have a happy ending for Kushner, a family-owned business that moved its headquarters from Florham Park, N.J., to 666 Fifth, its first major acquisition in Manhattan.”

Who came to the rescue? None other than LNR Property, the company whose CEO at the time was Justin Kennedy. According to the NYT and the Real Deal, Mr. Kushner and LNR “reached a possible agreement with LNR Property, a firm specializing in restructuring troubled debt and which oversees the mortgage, that would allow him to retain control of the tower by modifying the terms of the $1.2 billion mortgage tied to the office portion of the building.” A spokesman for Mr. Kushner told the Wall Street Journal in March of 2011 that “[t]he Kushner’s are ready and willing to invest more money into the property as soon as they can come to mutually satisfactory terms with the servicing agent.” In that same article Kushner’s father-in-law and the future President commented on the negotiations with Justin Kennedy’s company. Speaking about the deal, Trump told the WSJ that Kushner is “a very smart young man…I think it (loan renegotiations) will come out well for him and everybody.” At this point there is no doubt that there was a direct business relationship between LNR and Kushner Companies at the time Justin Kennedy and Jared Kushner were both CEO. Even the future President was aware of the deal and commented on its respective merits. (That being said, it is not impossible that Jared Kushner and Justin Kennedy did not meet in connection with the specific deal in question; however, given the stakes involved it does seem more than likely that the two CEO’s would have interacted as negotiations were being conducted.)

The connections between Kushner, Kennedy, and Trump do not end there. Coincidentally, in 2011, the year in which some of these negotiations took place, Justin Kennedy for the first time was ranked on the New York Observer’s 100 Most Powerful People in New York Real Estate at #36. Donald Trump clocked in at #12. The New York Observer was owned at the time by none other than Jared Kushner himself.

[pbmus]

1. My wife says 5 million...

First words out of her mouth when she heard the news

[BigmanPigman]

2. And I thought he just drank the Kool-aid but this

seems like corruption to me.

[onenote]

3. He's 81 and there has been speculation that he might retire for over a year.

His age and the timing of his retirement put him squarely within the norm for SCOTUS justices.

No one is going to be investigating this.

[OnDoutside]

9. That may well be the case BUT, as the supposed block between a full attempt to strike down of Roe v

Wade, he knows that Trump plans to replace him with a RWNJ who will vote to strike it down. He could have waited until November.

[onenote]

10. Supreme Court justices almost invariably retire in time for a replacement to be named before the

next Court term. They feel an obligation to the Court to avoid a situation in which the Court is operating for a time at less than full strength.

And that goes for Justices appointed by Democrats as well as Justices appointed by Republicans. There are examples of both retiring in June or July, even in an election year.

[OnDoutside]

11. Yes, you are right, but there is no more fundamental issue out there than Row v Wade. It's what has

been driving the RWNJs on for decades. He knows this, and he also knows there is a chance the Dems will take the House, and maybe the Senate in November. With all that is at stake, and a lunatic in the WH, in that context it is a strange move.

[jberryhill]

28. That is absurd

So let me see if I understand what you are saying. Rather than simply being bought off to rule the way Trump wants, he was bought off to retire?

If you are going to be bought off, then why not provide better customer service?

It is completely normal for retirements to be announced at the end of the term, so the court doesn’t have to start the next term short.

To find something nefarious in the retirement of an 81 year old man takes a special sort of determination.

[OnDoutside]

46. I think you might be responding to the wrong post.

I posted

That may well be the case BUT, as the supposed block between a full attempt to strike down of Roe v Wade, he knows that Trump plans to replace him with a RWNJ who will vote to strike it down. He could have waited until November.

My point being, if he was going to side with RBG over Roe v Wade, then why not wait until after the November midterms ? Yes there is tradition but tradition went out the window with Merrick Garland's treatment.

[jberryhill]

47. "why not wait until after the November midterms "

Because their session begins in OCTOBER, and they decide which cases they are going to take up before then.

Waiting until after November means that (a) the new justice will miss out on several cases, and (b) won't have any influence on which cases are taken up for the full term through next June.

It would be utterly stupid to wait until after the midterms.

[OnDoutside]

48. Yes but the new justice would likely be a RWNJ, so it wouldn't be stupid. Plus if by some chance,

the Dems won the Senate back, it restricts Trump for the rest of his one term. What's so bad about that ?

[jberryhill]

51. "stupid" depends, I guess, on one's perspective

No, it would be stupid for him to hold out longer if he wanted to be replaced by a RWNJ, which is apparently exactly what he wants.

Waiting until after the midterms would ensure that the seat would be vacant for a good part of the next term of the court.

[OnDoutside]

57. Yes, from a RW conservative pov, yes. But Row v Wade is the single most defining issue, and I cannot

understand why someone who would supposedly block it's strike down, would retire before November, knowing someone even more RW would give them the majority they have been looking for. It just doesn't make sense, unless he doesn't give a shit.

[Hekate]

15. That's pretty much my thinking. His son, though...

[Proud Liberal Dem]

55. Pretty much what I was going to say

If true, it's definitely corrupt but it's not like he would be forced to take back his retirement.

[C_U_L8R]

4. Maybe not exactly bought... but cozy enough for discomfort

Certainly seems fishy enough for a little investigating.

[LenaBaby61]

5. Certainly seems fishy enough for a little investigating.

No investigating will be done, but there should be.

SOMETHING stinks to high heaven here. Didn't Kennedy just hire 4 clerks in January of this year?

🤔

Yep, something stinks to high heaven with Kennedy bolting the way he did.

[C_U_L8R]

7. I hope at least investigative journalists are on it.

The free press may be all we have.
And the Republicans are blitzing them as well.

[dottie66]

53. Here's a clue

Inside the White House’s Quiet Campaign to Create a Supreme Court Opening

[link:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/28/us/politics/trump-anthony-kennedy-retirement.html|

[mythology]

43. CNN article from April

n January, conservative court watcher Ed Whelan wrote for the National Review that "if the rumors are true that Justice Kennedy has been looking to retire, then it seems a reasonable bet that he would do so this spring," he said.

"Indeed, the very real prospect that Democrats will win control of the Senate in the November 2018 elections might clinch his decision to do so. If he waits until next year, and if Democrats take control of the Senate, his seat would probably remain empty until 2021," Whelan speculated.

Between now and June, Kennedy has almost a full docket of cases to consider. It's a real possibility that he hasn't even made up his mind.

He's hired clerks for next term, but warned at least one, two sources say, that retirement is always a possibility. There is precedent for the clerks who are hired by one justice to be absorbed by another justice if a retirement occurs. Indeed, Gorsuch was hired by Jusstice Byron White but served out his clerkship with Kennedy after White retired in 1993.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/04/01/politics/anthony-kennedy-supreme-court-future/index.html

This isn't a conspiracy.

[rockfordfile]

6. It seems to be just more corruption.

[Evergreen Emerald]

8. He threw away his legacy

And destroyed everything he tried to stand for when working on the Supreme Court to maintain a just, democratic nation.

[Vinca]

12. Unless something is proved otherwise, I think he retired because he's 81.

The man probably wants a few years to himself before he departs. This shouldn't be a big surprise to anyone. Now I'm worried RBG might go during Trump's term. I'm sure she intends to hang in there, but life deals the cards.

[former9thward]

13. So now SC Justices can't retire?

They have to go until they drop dead at the bench?

[SunSeeker]

26. So now we can't discuss troubling facts?

The fact that he is quite healthy, despite being 81, and not anywhere near close to "dropping dead."

The fact that Kennedy had already hired his fall clerks, yet Mitch is rushing to get his replacement confirmed by September.

The fact that Trump called Kennedy's son, Justin Kennedy, his "most trusted banker" for over a decade over at Deutsche Bank, a bank notorious (& convicted) for money laundering.

The fact that after Trump's first speech to Congress, he "worked is way through the crowd" and "lingered on his handshake" with Kennedy, as noted in the Politico article: “Say hello to your boy,” Trump said, “Special guy.” “Your kids have been very nice to him,” Kennedy replied. “Well,” Trump said, “they love him, and they love him in New York.”


Right. Nothing to see here. Please look away.

[former9thward]

32. Not everything is a CT.

At least for some of us. So he is 81, and you declare him "quite healthy" even though you know zero about his health. But even if he is "quite healthy" so what? Someone who is healthy is not allowed to retire and enjoy a little of life? Of course he hired fall clerks. That means nothing. Justice Stevens hired clerks also. And he is still alive!!! I guess he should be investigated for retiring. He was obviously healthy!

[SunSeeker]

35. Sure. But why ignore the fact the Kennedy's son is Trump's banker at money laundering Deutsche Bank?

Whenever someone in Washington leaves their post claiming it is to "spend more time with my family," you must know that is bullshit, right?

[SCantiGOP]

14. Let's keep it classy DU

Paranoia and conspiracy are trademarks of the other side.

[bettyellen]

33. Kennedy's son was Trump's "most trusted personal banker" for a dozen years at

Duetch Bank. And there’s a Kennedy connection to a huge loan to Jared’s RE holdings in NYC.

So yeah, you’ve erroneously described DUers as paranoid. I don’t know why anyone would think this is on the up and up, that’s the exception and not the rule these days. But I remember people said the same about the Russian thing. Too trusting.

[ck4829]

50. Infowars said there were sex slave colonies on Mars, this is nothing like that

[exboyfil]

52. And they win with it

I don't know what to make of it, but I see the propaganda potential for it. If the shoe was on the other foot, the GOP would have Congressional inquiries for two plus years.

[aikoaiko]

16. This why we can't have nice things.

[bettyellen]

27. Because we think trump is above bribing people? Nope, we really don't.

[aikoaiko]

39. Because dreaming up conspiracy theoreis without any evidence makes us look weird.

Trump bribing people is totally believable. Much worse is totally believable.

But evidence first. Theory second.

[bettyellen]

58. Trump and Kushner already had big and deep financial ties to Kennedy's family.

There is already evidence they are cronies. That’s part of why people are theorizing.

[not fooled]

17. The larger question

is the lack of ethics regulation governing SC justices.

Kennedy can retire because he's old but should he fraternize with the Executive branch? Should the wives of SC justices take big bucks compensation from kook bros backed groups? Apparently there is nothing stopping them and that's a problem.

SC just another arm of the pukes now. Sad.

[bucolic_frolic]

18. Kennedy had already hired his clerks for next year

Link to tweet

TLeaf
? @GezetteThee

Huh. Kennedy would've recused himself in any matter before the court, esp if his son were part of the investigation, as subject or witness.

Kennedy had already hired his clerks for next year, then resigned, avoiding a greater cloud on his life's work.

Something HUGE is coming.

Link to tweet

Steve Silberman
?Verified account @stevesilberman

Well, here's an unnerving factoid: Trump's "most trusted" private banker at @DeutscheBank for 12 years was... Justice Kennedy's son! https://www.ft.com/content/8c6d9dca-882c-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787 …

[onenote]

56. If you do some research, you'll learn that retiring SCOTUS Justices often have hired clerks

Kennedy completed his hiring of clerks for 2018 before the end of last year (2017). It would have been foolish for him not to prepare for various contingencies. For example, what if another justice had died and his retirement potentially could have left the court with two vacancies simultaneously. What if he hadn't made his mind up firmly last fall but only came to a decision as the term wore on.

His age, timing and other actions are squarely within the norm for SCOTUS Justices who decide to retire.

[SunSeeker]

19. Really creepy how many things the Trump spawn have their tentacles in. nt

[MyOwnPeace]

20. This is NOT a problem!

Our fine Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McTurtle, er, McConnell, has said ON RECORD:

"Once the political season is under way...action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over." (3/2/16)

So, primaries are already on the record, thus the "political season" is well under way.

Surely Mitch wouldn't lie to us, would he?

[AdamGG]

23. Mitch will claim that he was referring to Presidential elections

[bettyellen]

29. He said he was referring to Presidents that are lame ducks.... until Mueller

Weighs in, I consider Trump a lame duck.

[AdamGG]

21. Whatever Kennedy's done, he's still probably less corrupt than Clarence Thomas

whose wife works for far right causes and Thomas never, ever reports a conflict of interest, when many times he's obviously had one.

Given that Kennedy is 81, the conspiracy theories are over the top. Remember how there were right wing conspiracy theories that Antonin Scalia was murdered? And, if Kennedy was that much in Trump's pocket, then what's the difference between him retiring and staying on anyway?

[wonkwest]

22. It's not going to happen ever

So let's move on to constructive things.

[MelissaB]

24. No.

It's time to shine the light on the mf'ers

[wonkwest]

25. Flail if you must

I'm pragmatic. No one is ever going to bother about this.

[LenaBaby61]

37. I'm pragmatic. No one is ever going to bother about this.

That's the problem with Democrats.

I wish they'd have investigated Bush/Cheney after Iraq/Afghanistan, but of course they didn't. Something about them moving on "For the good of the country." Look at the "Benghazi's" under Bush/Cheney. NOT even looked at, yet Gowdy/thuglicans had 33 hearings, costing $7 MILLION tax-payer dollars and 4 years investigating Hillary's Benghazi's. But, there was some there there with those Bush Benghazi's. Thuglicans tried to blame HER for their not allowing for more funding to protect the embassies which were attacked, and where there was loss of life. Hillary was attacked for so many things and lied on concerning Benghazi and There's some there there concerning the soldiers who died in that botched mission over in Niger which was decided over a big piece of Chocolate Cake. Not even DEMS care about that. But, if Niger/dead soldiers had happened under a Dem, thuglicans would be all over it. Dems

I HOPE that if there is some there there with tRumputin, and there's more there there than you can shake 5,000 sticks at, they investigate even after his fat ass leaves office. Yeah, you'll hear thuglicans say "It'll cost too much money" blah, blah, blah, and SADLY, I can hear Chuck Schumer, if he's still part of Dem leadership saying "For the good of the country, let's move on from this sordid chapter in history concerning Donald Trump, and get down to the people's business." tRumputin and his minions are more than LIKELY guilty of treason and more, but Dems will told by thuglicans to stop wasting $$ and move on. NO thuglican now-a-days would walk away from anything like that if it concerned a Dem. Yet, DEMS always have to "move on" or "get over it."

In fact, that dog and pony show this morning concerning Mueller's boss Rod Rothstein, Gowdy and Jordan was about...

Hillary's emails

[wonkwest]

41. Pragmatic doesn't mean unreasonable

All you say is totally true.

By pragmatic, I mean political reality. What they should do is not what they will do.

They won't bother. No one will. Highlight things, sure, but it's not a fight anyone will bother with. Hell, look at this board. No one actually cares.

[LenaBaby61]

42. "By pragmatic, I mean political reality. What they should do is not what they will do."

I hear you

[wonkwest]

44. And I hear you

I know all of this is hard. It's all a very hard swallow. But we just have to fight where the battle is winnable.

[njhoneybadger]

30. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

[underthematrix]

31. What makes you think he hasn't been interviewed by the Special Counsel's office.

That's immediately what I thought when he announced his retirement

[bucolic_frolic]

34. ! yes

Lots of retiring going on. The public may not know the full extent of it for decades, or the reasons why in each case. Cleaning up without panic has to be a consideration. Some may have cooperated, or given a choice.

[MichMan]

36. Kennedy should be impeached !

[USALiberal]

38. Please tell me this is a joke post! nt

[dalton99a]

40. Kick

[burrowowl]

45. K&R

[ck4829]

49. Good question

[First Speaker]

54. I know one thing--if in the unlikely event there is some truth to this notion...

...the GOP Senate wouldn't give a damn. If it were proved tomorrow that Anthony Kennedy was given an island in the Bahamas, 67 virgins, and a billion dollars to retire--Congress would schedule another hearing on Hillary's E-Mails.