NBC: Justice Kennedy & Trump were in negotiations for months re. Kavanaugh pick to replace

[PunkinPi]

Link to tweet

Source familiar tells NBC that Justice Kennedy had been in negotiations with the Trump team for months over Kennedy’s replacement. Once Kennedy received assurances that it would be Kavanaugh (his former law clerk) Kennedy felt comfortable retiring - @LACaldwellDC & @frankthorp
7:16 AM - Jul 10, 2018

The fix was in from the get go.

[Trust Buster]

1. Horrendous disrespect for the highest court in the land.

[olegramps]

42. A horrendous disrespect for anyone who won't kiss Trumps fat ass.

[olegramps]

43. Life time appointments lend themselves to corruption of the system.

[dalton99a]

2. Betcha Deutsche Bank figured prominently in the background

[Baitball Blogger]

4. Bingo.

[PunkinPi]

6. Yep. nt

[ewagner]

11. Double BINGO! n/t

[FailureToCommunicate]

15. Justice Kennedy's son, correct?

[dalton99a]

16. Yep - "Say hello to your boy. Special guy."

During Mr. Kennedy’s tenure, Deutsche Bank became Mr. Trump’s most important lender, dispensing well over $1 billion in loans to him for the renovation and construction of skyscrapers in New York and Chicago at a time other mainstream banks were wary of doing business with him because of his troubled business history.

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

[PunkinPi]

22. On video to boot...

Link to tweet

[dalton99a]

25. Yep.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I'm no legal scholar, but I'm wondering if this is just unethical or is it illegal?

[marylandblue]

5. There is no law on this, just unethical

We are really far from the Constitution's assumptions. There was no consideration of a judge picking his own successor.

[Cosmocat]

12. This is the kind of shit that republicans would gin up and loose their minds over

if it were a D, while gloating over them doing it.

Cancerous to the process and slipping further into fascism.

But ... Not "illegal" and now perfectly acceptable for a country that relentlessly indulges republican fuck wittery.

[SHRED]

26. Is separation of powers an "ideal"? A concept only?

This is incredible.

[Amaryllis]

57. Probably another one of those "it's a norm but not a law" things.

[PunkinPi]

23. According to Norm Eisen...

Link to tweet

If this is true, Kennedy had a major conflict of interest as to Trump while sitting in judgment on Trump’s actions including the Muslim ban. A judge cannot secretly negotiate a benefit he badly wants with a litigant who has other business before his court. Hearings must address.

[sinkingfeeling]

7. Maybe there should be a law that the executive branch cannot have

private meetings with SCOTUS judges in order to keep this from happening. The Constitution has the 3 branches separate but equal.

[lagomorph777]

8. No meetings before or after confirmation, with sitting or prospective justices.

[KPN]

32. Seems like we need a lot of new, stronger, clear-cut ethics laws since 45 came to light.

As a country, if and when we ever recover the norms of democracy, we had better heed the obvious signals we are getting daily this past 18 months or so about such needs, or we will risk a sequel in relatively short order.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Tainted. And this makes Kavanaugh seem corrupt once he learns these facts ...

... unless he withdraws on finding out. He may not have been a party to the Trump-Kennedy deal, just a useful so-and-so.

[Shrek]

10. They're backing off on this now

Link to tweet

To be clear: This is from one source and dont have any info on whether potus talked to kennedy about a possible replacement.

[PunkinPi]

18. Additional tweet in the thread....

Link to tweet

Here’s Politico’s version: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/09/brett-kavanaugh-trump-private-meeting-706137 …
8:53 AM - Jul 10, 2018

Politico article linked in tweet (long read, snips below)-> https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/09/brett-kavanaugh-trump-private-meeting-706137

After Justice Anthony Kennedy told President Donald Trump he would relinquish his seat on the Supreme Court, the president emerged from his private meeting with the retiring jurist focused on one candidate to name as his successor: Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Kennedy’s former law clerk.

So even as Trump dispatched his top lawyers to comb though Kavanaugh’s rulings and quizzed allies about whether he was too close to the Bush family, potentially a fatal flaw, the president was always leaning toward accepting Kennedy’s partiality for Kavanaugh while preserving the secret until his formal announcement, sources with knowledge of his thinking told POLITICO.

Administration officials said Trump was taken with Kavanaugh even before his conversation with Kennedy. But Kennedy, in leaving the impression with Trump that Kavanaugh would be a great candidate for the job, helped the president make up his mind.

____
bold for emphasis

[RandomAccess]

46. AND the White House isn't denying ---

White House doesn't deny report Trump made secret deal with Kennedy over retirement, replacement
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210850641

[PunkinPi]

59. Thanks for adding! nt

[duforsure]

13. Any Senator voting to allow this pick to serve

To protect trump from prosecution, indictments, and being compelled to testify for Mueller is complicit in organized criminal activity now, and could be consider co-conspirator's and charged. If its proven Kennedy was blackmailed out of his position to replace him with this loyalist for him , it could get a lot worse for those involved very quickly, especially with ties to Duesch bank his son works at. This is going to backfire and make things a lot worse for these criminals.

[KPN]

34. In a normal ethical world, that might be true.

[Amishman]

14. Is anyone remotely surprised?

And if the confirmation hearing go poorly, all Kennedy has to do is announce that he would very much like for Kavanaugh to be his replacement and any vulnerable Republicans have the cover they need to vote Yes.

Sen Collins just has to say 'while a have my reservations about Kavanaugh, I feel honored bound to respect the wishes of Justice Kennedy in deference to his lifetime of service and good judgement'.

Democrats should just boycott all proceedings and get this over with. Makes a cleaner political statement and lets us move on. The last thing we want is to stir up and give unity to the Right in the run-up to the election. We need to have the headlines hammering Trump, not filled with stories about a fight we aren't going to win.

[Texin]

17. Every fucking thing tRump does is nothing but a "business" deal.

Every damn thing is actually a monetized transaction.

[KPN]

35. Edit that: "shady business deal".

Every fucking thing! EVERY!

[RandomAccess]

47. Yes -

someone else said: Trump doesn't have "policies." He has investment strategies.

[lancelyons]

19. it is possible that Kennedy helped us out here... i guess the jury is out on that

it is possible that Kennedy helped us out here... i guess the jury is out on that

Why would Kennedy, a moderate on the court and one that sided with Liberals from time to time.. insist on Kavanaugh as a condition of his retirement?

I have to think Kennedy was not trying to screw a chunk of America.

There are some rumors out there that Kavanaugh might have been considered not conservative enough.

Perhaps he will also side with Liberals from time to time.


Jury is out? not sure.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. Kennedy was never a moderate. He was always very conservative,

occasionally taking a less extreme view on social issues.

[progree]

41. More conservative than A. Kennedy

https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/09/brett-kavanaugh-trump-private-meeting-706137

Trump allies see him (Kavanaugh) as more conservative than his mentor (Kennedy) and the most confirmable of the group, particularly with Republican senators. “I think he knows his record was more conservative than Kennedy’s,” one Trump ally said of the president’s decision.

[avebury]

20. Mueller should haul Kennedy

in for a conversation. It sure looks like another case of obstruction of justice.

[dalton99a]

24. +1. It's a safe bet Mueller is looking at all sources of financing

And Kennedy's son played a key part in keeping the Trump empire afloat

[KPN]

37. Damn straight. Democrats should start demanding an imvestigation into potential criminal acts

around this -- NOW!

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

54. NO question... Schumer should be all over this!

[Botany]

21. Good god in Butter

And don’t forget Trump was getting his money from Deutsche Bank after the US Banks stopped loaning him any $$ because of all the times he filed bankruptcy in order not to pay his bills and Justice Kennedy’s son was working @ Deutsche Bank too.

The American Right Wing, Russian Organized Crime, the super rich, Fox News, parts of the GOP and Christian Evangelicals are working at installing their people in order to fuck us all and steal power.

[bitterross]

27. Kennedy took a risk that 45 would honor his word. He must have dirt.

Kennedy must have some good inside info on 45. I'd think that would be the only way he'd take the risk on 45 doing what he said he would do.

[lark]

28. Colluding traitors.

The Kennedy banker, the Kennedy justice and drumpf - traitors to the US and Russian tools, each and every one of them!

[Nitram]

29. Is that type of quid pro quo agreement legal?

If this is true, Kennedy is as much a scumbag as Trump.

[pecosbob]

30. If this is merely unethical and not illegal

then it certainly justifies an executive act creating three or four more justices as FDR threatened to do.

[SHRED]

31. Excellent point

[KPN]

39. I like it. It definitely provides a rationale that gives cover re: packing the court. It's already

been unethically packed!

[Grins]

36. Let you forever be remembered for "this" Justice Kennedy.... NM

[DesertRat]

38. McConnell announced cancellation of the August recess

McConnell announced cancellation of the August recess a short time before Kennedy made his surprise retirement announcement. He knew a SCOTUS nominee was coming.

[Initech]

40. They are stealing the Supreme Court and getting away with it!

[RandomAccess]

50. They're trying -- but we STILL have a chance --

read this first:
The 2-Step Strategy to Win the Supreme Court Fight
https://www.indivisible.org/resource/2-step-strategy-win-supreme-court-fight/

CNN’s political strategist breaks down perfect reason no red-state Democrat should support Trump’s SCOTUS nominee 09 Jul 2018 at 16:43 ET https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142105114
.............................
During a conversation with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Begala said that it’s an “easy” decision and there is no question, any Democrat in a red-leading state or district should oppose whomever the nominee happens to be.
“Here’s why,” Begala began. “No Republican paid a price at all at the polls for opposing Merrick Garland, who was President [Barack] Obama’s moderate choice. A moderate nominee of a popular president, they opposed him in lockstep and nobody suffered.”
...........................
“So, you’re not going to gain a single vote supporting this nominee as a Democrat in a red state,” he continued. “If you do support it, you lose the Democrats. So, I think it’s actually an easy vote, not a difficult one. I’m glad they’re going — they should hear him out. I think terrific, the American way. But the politics are actually not hard for the red state Democrats.
In many red states, Democrats often believe that they have to persuade conservatives to vote for them rather than to invest in getting out the vote for their own base. Republicans, by contrast, get their base to the polls and attack their opposition.
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/07/cnns-political-strategist-explains-perfect-reason-no-red-state-democrat-support-trumps-scotus-nominee/

[marieo1]

44. minngal

I don't understand how something like this can happen. Why are Rep held to a different standard than Democrats? If Democrats had pulled such a stunt and were as slimy as the reps, the reps would just howl and scream. What is the matter with our system?

Also, why can't immigrants seek protection in our country? We give protection to white supremacists, neo-Nazi's, and lots of other hate groups. Our government should have gone after these hate group years ago. Those are the people I am afraid of, not immigrants that just seek a better life here in our country.

[sdfernando]

45. OMG...and Kennedy believes and trusts the word of that putrid useless bag of Hyena shit!

With all due respect to Hyenas.

How could anyone, ANYONE believe he will do what he says/promises/gives his word to do?

He lies, that is his reality, he has no other.

Justice Kennedy, you got taken for a ride and conned, forever you will be tarred with this. Great way to end a career.

Fuck them both!

[RandomAccess]

51. Apparently not -- he got nominated, didn't he?

[sdfernando]

52. Yes he did, and I'm shocked he actually did it.

Perhaps Kennedy the younger has some goods on hyena-shit that helped convince him.

[DeminPennswoods]

48. This. Is. Bad.

nt

[Achilleaze]

49. This is so WRONG

republicans are pissing all over American democracy. Again.

I predict a shit storm.

[C_U_L8R]

53. Kennedy just torched his career

What a disgraceful way to retire. He got greedy.

As for the Trumps, they are absolutely corrupt and need to be ejected.

[Delphinus]

55. WTF?

This is so wrong.

[Amaryllis]

56. Is this legal? Although I guess that has become irrelevant.

[Boomerproud]

58. Can't wait for the midnight tweetstorm railing against FAKE NEWS NBC!!!!!

It might be one worth reading for shits and giggles.

[Demsrule86]

60. So disrespectful Kennedy has tarnished his legacy beyond repair...and Kavanaugh should

be impeached as should Gorsuch...doubt we have a legal way to do that though.