by Pam Martens and Russ Martens at Wall Street on Parade
Last Wednesday, March 10, a Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing of critical importance to every American on the growing tsunami of dark money that is corrupting the U.S court system, up to, and including, the U.S. Supreme Court. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who has written extensively on the corrupting influence of dark money on American democracy, chairs that Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action and Federal Rights.
One would have thought that every major print and broadcast news outlet would have covered that hearing. Instead, the silence was deafening and smacked of censorship. The one peep that was heard from a major news outlet was a snarky attack on Whitehouse himself on the day of the hearing by the corporatized, right-wing Editorial Board of the Wall Street Journal, part of the Rupert Murdoch empire.
The “Editorial Board” wrote this about Whitehouse:
“On Wednesday the Rhode Island Democrat will hold a Judiciary Committee hearing on ‘What’s Wrong with the Supreme Court: The Big-Money Assault on Our Judiciary.’ Subtlety is not Sheldon’s speciality [sic]. The hearing is intended to advance his Amicus Act that would force the Court to change its rules on amicus briefs, which the Justices invite to inform them on the law and facts on cases.
“Note the disrespect for the Court. The title of the hearing signals a foregone conclusion that the Justices are corrupted by money. This is a running theme of Mr. Whitehouse, whose preoccupations in the Senate have been undermining judicial independence and restricting the First Amendment rights of private citizens to influence their government.”
Had a truly objective Editorial Board at the Wall Street Journal taken the time to read the full written testimony of Lisa Graves, President of the Center for Media and Democracy, that was presented at this hearing, there would be no doubt in their minds that the Federal court system in the United States has been obscenely corrupted by dark money, coming predominantly from fossil fuels billionaire Charles Koch and his dark money network.
As the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board well knows, the reason that legislation is needed to reform the rules on the filing of amicus briefs is because Koch’s dark money network is flooding the courts with dodgy amicus briefs paid for by dodgy special interests.
Graves’ courageous testimony named names and backed up her charges with hard facts. Graves explained the campaign to seat Amy Coney Barrett on the Supreme Court as follows:
“Just seven months ago, billionaire Koch’s political arm, Americans for Prosperity (AFP), launched a ‘full-scale’ campaign to get Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court on the eve of the presidential election. Koch was not alone in this, but the length and depth and intensity of his focus on remaking America’s laws to suit his image is unmatched.
“AFP is only one part of the influence machine Koch Industries’ CEO has built up to capture the Supreme Court—and, with it, the meaning of our Constitution. The network he funds includes the Federalist Society. Koch has sought to keep the press from reporting on the names of the other billionaires and millionaires that fund his agenda, but leaks have revealed that it has included many extremely wealthy fossil fuel industry executives and heirs of corporate fortunes.
“AFP deployed deceptive rhetoric designed to assure Americans that Barrett would be a judge who ‘puts the Constitution first, interprets the law as written, and protects our freedoms.’ They also claimed she will ‘uphold the rule of law’ and ‘not legislate from the bench.’
“But the real reason the Koch machine and its close allies were ‘all in’ for Barrett was because of their belief that she would be a sure vote for their radical pro-corporate, anti-regulatory agenda. They believe she will help usher in a legal revolution that will reverse a century of post-New Deal precedents they dislike.”
Graves writes that Leonard Leo, the Co-Chairman of the Koch-funded Federalist Society “sits at the hub of a secretive scheme to capture the courts and remake our laws, with a cadre of his confidantes and groups.” Graves says that “more than $400 million” was received by this dark money network between 2014 and 2018.
Graves list the following as part of the dark money judicial nominations influence network, in addition to the Federal Society:…
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