Brett Kavanaugh Urged Fellow Supreme Court Judges To Not Take Up Cases On Abortion, Trump’s Finances
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh privately urged his other justices in written memos to not take up cases surrounding abortion and President Trump’s finances, a report by CNN revealed Wednesday.
Kavanaugh had asked the other justices to avoid a ruling on a Louisiana abortion law, requiring abortion providers in the state to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. Critics claimed the law could force the closure of most abortion providers in Louisiana.
Kavanaugh wanted the law to return to a lower trial court so that Supreme Court judges would not have to put their views on it on record. The Court eventually struck down the law in a 5-4 ruling on July 29, with Chief Justice John Roberts casting the deciding vote.
The other case involved a House subpoena for Trump’s financial records from his longtime accounting firm, Mazars LLC. Kavanaugh did not want the Court to take up the case, due to its political nature. The Court ended up temporarily blocking congressional Democrats from issuing the subpoena, ruling on July 9 that Congress should make a more clear argument for Trump’s financial documents.
Kavanaugh, a conservative, was nominated by Trump in July 2018 to fill the position vacated by retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. His nomination sparked controversy after he was accused by Palo Alto University professor Christine Blasey Ford of sexual assault while they were both in high school.
Further complicating the hearings, Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., asked if Kavanaugh had ever met with a member of a law firm founded by President Trump’s personal lawyer, which potentially may have shown a cozy relationship between Kavanaugh and Trump. Kavanaugh said he was "not sure if I know everyone who works at that law firm … I’m not remembering.”
The Senate confirmed his nomination in a 50-48 vote.
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