A federal judge asked Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to assign an investigation into Sen. Mitch McConnell’s alleged role in creating a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Judge Sri Srinivasan on Monday urged Roberts to allow another circuit to investigate a vacancy created on the D.C. Circuit to see if McConnell had pressured a senior judge to retire to allow Senate Republicans and President Trump to pick a replacement. The questions were first raised by the progressive advocacy group Demand Justice.
Judge Thomas Griffith retired in March after reports that McConnell had been urging older judges appointed to the courts by Republican presidents to retire so that conservative judges could fill their shoes after being nominated by Trump. When Griffith announced his retirement, Trump nominated Justin Walker, 37, to fill his position as a federal judge.
There has not been any clear evidence that McConnell spoke to Griffith prior to his retirement announcement or that he urged Griffith to retire. Srinivasan, who was appointed by Obama, requested an investigation to ensure that retiring judges were not pressured to retire by McConnell. He asked Roberts to consider the complaint brought forward by Demand Justice but did not directly name Griffith in the request to Roberts as Demand Justice did.
“The organization’s request for an inquiry concerns the decision of a judge of this court to retire from service and the resulting creation of a vacancy on this court, which would be filled by a future colleague on this court,” Srinivasan wrote.
In its request for an investigation, Demand Justice claimed that McConnell could be compromising the integrity of the court. It wrote, “The coordinated manner of Majority Leader McConnell’s involvement in the judges’ decision-making is quite unprecedented and raises significant ethical questions for the judges who heed his advice.”
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, said Srinivasan’s concerns are legitimate, telling the New York Times, “The judiciary is right to take seriously allegations that sitting judges are gaming their retirements at the request of politicians. Mitch McConnell has been clear that his top priority is packing the courts with the judges his right-wing donors want, and that he’s actively pushing judges to retire. A judge would undermine the credibility of the bench by participating in that partisan gamesmanship.”
McConnell’s spokesman brushed off the complaint, saying, “Leader McConnell looks forward to watching Judge Walker’s confirmation hearing this week.”
The Senate resumed session on Monday after spending time outside Washington because of the coronavirus. Walker’s confirmation hearing is one of the items scheduled to take place. Walker’s nomination has been controversial. The American Bar Association deemed him “unqualified” for the seat because of his lack of experience.
