Politico Run Hits Piece on Neil Gorsuch in Latest Attempt to Delegitimize SCOTUS

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Did Gorsuch Conceal a Supersecret Real Estate Transaction?

Contrary to what Politico insinuates, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch did not try to hide a real estate transaction that earned him between $250,000 and $500,000. In fact, the transaction was listed on his publicly available federal disclosure form from 2017, alongside all his other income sources. Gorsuch was a member of the “Walden Group, LLC” that owned the Colorado property, and he tried to sell it with the group for two years before his nomination. Nine days after his confirmation, the property was sold to a lawyer who runs Colorado’s biggest law firm.

Politico’s False Claims

Politico’s Heidi Przybyla falsely claims that Gorsuch concealed the identity of the purchaser, but none of the Supreme Court Justices in 2017 filled out the “Identity of buyer/seller” column for any of their income sources. Politico is holding Gorsuch to a completely new standard. The article also claims that Gorsuch did not indicate that there had been a real estate sale or a purchaser, which is also false. On the very first page of the disclosure, Gorsuch notes that he was a member of the “Walden Group, LLC,” which owned the mountain property.

Conclusion

It’s clear that Gorsuch did not try to conceal anything, and the real estate transaction was disclosed on his federal disclosure form. Politico’s claims are unfounded and misleading.

Politico’s Attempt to Smear Justice Gorsuch

It’s no secret that the media has a bias against conservative justices, and Politico’s recent hit piece on Justice Neil Gorsuch is no exception. The article attempts to create the perception that Gorsuch is corrupt and unethical, but upon closer examination, it falls flat.

One of the central accusations of the piece is that Gorsuch had a conflict of interest when he sold a property to a lawyer who works for a large law firm. However, the lawyer in question has stated that he has never even met Gorsuch, and there is no evidence to suggest otherwise. The article also tries to tie Gorsuch to the oil and gas industry, as if that is somehow a bad thing.

But the real goal of the article is to delegitimize conservative justices and their legal philosophy. The media can’t stand the fact that these justices uphold constitutional limits on the state, which is the only thing standing in the way of the progressive agenda.

Don’t Believe the Hype

Don’t fall for the media’s attempts to smear conservative justices like Gorsuch. They are simply trying to create a false narrative to push their own agenda. We need to support justices who uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, not those who cave to political pressure.

• Stay informed and do your own research
• Don’t believe everything you read in the media
• Support justices who uphold the Constitution

Let’s not let the media’s bias and false narratives dictate our opinions. We need to stand up for what is right and support those who uphold the principles of our founding documents.

that included Gorsuch tried to sell a Colorado property they owned together since 2005. And nine days after Gorsuch was confirmed, but before he ruled on any cases, the property was sold to a lawyer who runs Colorado’s biggest law firm. Gorsuch netted between $250,000 and $500,000 on the sale.

The reason Politico’s Heidi Przybyla is aware of Gorsuch’s supersecret arrangement is that it’s listed right there on his publicly available federal disclosure form from 2017 alongside every other income — stock sales, etc.

Yet, one of Politico’s central insinuations is that Gorsuch was trying to conceal this transaction because he “did not report the identity of the purchaser.” And it’s true that the nominee didn’t fill out the “Identity of buyer/seller” column for the estate transaction — or, for that matter, on any other income. I went back and looked at all the disclosure forms of Supreme Court Justices in 2017, and none of them made a single notation in that column for any transaction. And, as far as I can tell, that line has never seen as much as a scribble from any justice in any year. Politico is holding Gorsuch to a completely new standard.

The piece also goes on to claim that Gorsuch “didn’t indicate that there had been a real estate sale or a purchaser.” This is just false. On the very first page of the disclosure, Gorsuch notes that he was a member of the “Walden Group, LLC,” right next to the words “mountain property.” On the next page, he lists the specifics.

This seems like pretty important context for a professional journalist to share with readers. Of course, Przybyla, who put in a yeowoman’s work smearing Brett Kavanaugh by spreading the uncorroborated claims of Julie Swetnick and Deborah Ramirez, is not any kind of real journalist.

The other central accusation of the piece is that the sale of the property created a conflict of interest for Gorsuch. But the lawyer who bought the property, Brian Duffy, says he’s never met or spoken to Gorsuch. And Politico offers no evidence to the contrary. Nor does Politico offer evidence that Gorsuch has ever deviated from his long-held legal philosophy to help anyone at Duffy’s huge law firm, Greenberg Traurig. (Duffy, incidentally, sends most of his contributions to Democrats — including Raphael Warnock, Hillary Clinton, Charles Schumer, and Barack Obama.)

It takes only a few paragraphs to figure out that Gorsuch broke no law and did nothing that a good-faith observer could deem unethical. So the piece, much like the coverage of Thomas’s friendship with Harlan Crow, tries to cover up its lack of substantiation with a veneer of vaguely journalistic-sounding verbiage. Przybyla then gives the floor to Dick Durbin and other left-wing anti-court activists, as one does when writing an unbiased piece insinuating that a Supreme Court is corrupt. “Without decisive action, the conservatives on the Supreme Court will forever tarnish its reputation in our public life,” one of these activists explains.

Elena Kagan, who served as Barack Obama’s Solicitor General, had no problem participating in a case upholding Obamacare. But Gorsuch once associated with characters that Przybyla finds unsavory. “Gorsuch’s ties to the oil and gas industry run deep,” Przybyla reminds the reader (which is bad, in case there is confusion.)

To bolster allusions of impropriety, Politico links to a similarly weak New York Times article from 2017, “Neil Gorsuch Has Web of Ties to Secretive Colorado Billionaire.” The shadowy tycoon in question is Philip Anschutz, whose name adorns medical facilities and buildings and museums across the state because he is known to basically everyone in Colorado. Anyway, years ago, Gorsuch worked with Anschutz, who in turn championed the fellow Coloradoan for a court during the Bush years. And because Gorsuch made money with people connected to Anschutz in the private sector, it means …

I don’t know what it means. And it doesn’t really matter. These hits are chum for partisans to swarm around. The only thing that matters is creating the perception that “conservative” justices – as if that explains Gorsuch’s legal philosophy – are corrupt. How else could they possibly believe those wacky originalist ideas, anyway? It’s all part of a concerted effort to delegitimize a Supreme Court that still occasionally upholds a semblance of constitutional limits on the state, the one thing still standing in the way of progressive project.

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