{"id":1455939,"date":"2022-04-27T18:59:36","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T22:59:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1455939"},"modified":"2022-04-27T18:59:40","modified_gmt":"2022-04-27T22:59:40","slug":"the-dark-money-lefts-court-packing-obsession","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-dark-money-lefts-court-packing-obsession\/","title":{"rendered":"The Dark Money Left\u2019s Court Packing Obsession"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fthe-dark-money-lefts-court-packing-obsession%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1455939&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/04\/Readers-Pass-Severino-How-the-Left-treated-Clarence-Thomas-vs.-the-Right-treating-Ketanji-Brown-Jackson16x9-scaled.jpg?w=1200&#038;h=800&#038;ixlib=react-9.3.0\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" alt=\"image\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>On April 7, the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. You would think that the left-wing dark money groups who pushed for her confirmation would be content to finally have their handpicked justice. But you would be wrong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>A mere three days later, Demand Justice\u00a0 \u2014 a top booster of Ketanji Brown Jackson\u2019s nomination and one of the most corrupting dark money influences on the judiciary \u2014 renewed its call to pack the Supreme Court, launching a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/WeDemandJustice\/status\/1513525070945296384?s=20&#038;t=-7skqo040sf-MeCJUEd3aw\"><span>digital ad<\/span><\/a><span> calling for Congress to \u201cBack up Justice Jackson\u201d by doing so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The same day, Demand Justice published an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/ballsandstrikes.org\/guest-essay\/ketanji-brown-jackson-court-expansion\/\"><span>op-ed by Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY)<\/span><\/a><span> entitled \u201cJustice Ketanji Brown Jackson Needs Four New Colleagues Right Now.\u201d Jones\u2019 reasoning: \u201cA justice like Ketanji Brown Jackson deserves to be in the majority\u2026 so [w]e must send her four new colleagues now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Demand Justice is not the only dark money group currently agitating for court-packing. Take Back the Courts, a left-wing group founded in 2019 to advocate for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.takebackthecourt.today\/take-back-the-court-faqs\"><span>eliminating the legislative filibuster<\/span><\/a><span>, has also regularly called for<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/TakeBacktheCt\/status\/1514960585091387397?s=20&#038;t=-7skqo040sf-MeCJUEd3aw\"><span> adding justices to the Court<\/span><\/a><span> on the heels of Jackson\u2019s confirmation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Perhaps we should take a step back. Where, exactly, did this push to pack the Supreme Court come from, and when did it begin?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Radical dark money groups initially launched their court packing scheme in 2018, after Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed as a justice. Having failed in their effort to derail Kavanaugh\u2019s confirmation, they set their sights on an alternative means by which to capture the Supreme Court.<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In recent years, the most visible such group has been Demand Justice, which is richly endowed by the vast Arabella Advisors network. Arabella <\/span><span>was founded by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arabellaadvisors.com\/directory\/eric-kessler\/\"><span>Eric Kessler<\/span><\/a><span>,<\/span><span> a former Clinton Administration official. It is a for-profit company that uses nonprofit funds to funnel millions of dollars to the sprawling network of liberal dark money groups that it manages. During the 2020 election cycle, the Arabella network helped direct more than <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/21112116\/sixteen-thirty-fund-2020-990.pdf\"><span>$1.2 billion<\/span><\/a><span> to elect President Biden and Senate Democrats \u2014 a mind-blowing sum.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>In the fall of 2018, Arabella-incubated Demand Justice hosted a conference gathering liberal activists to explore various plans for so-called \u201ccourt reform,\u201d which, according to news <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.law360.com\/articles\/1108519\/progressives-weigh-packing-the-court-post-kavanaugh\"><span>reports<\/span><\/a><span>, included \u201cbold strategies such as court-packing and impeaching Justice Brett Kavanaugh if and when Democrats control Congress and the White House.\u201d So much for representative democracy and the rule of law.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Conference panelists included then-DNC head Tom Perez, Lisa Graves of the Center for Media and Democracy (yet another far-left dark money group that does not disclose its donors), and liberal commentator Elie Mystal. Mystal is now a member of Demand Justice\u2019s board of directors and made news recently for <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/opinion\/biden-supreme-court-pick-radicals-ketanji-brown-jackson\"><span>referring to the Constitution as \u201ckind of trash<\/span><\/a><span>.\u201d\u00a0 Demand Justice\u2019s executive director, Brian Fallon, said that Mystal inspired the organization to push for court packing after Kavanaugh was confirmed. (Mystal today says <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/politics\/ketanji-brown-jackson-pause\/\"><span>he wants to add as many as 20 new justices<\/span><\/a><span> to the Court.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The left-wing push to pack the Court picked up steam during the 2020 election season. In February of 2020, Demand Justice <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/demandjustice.org\/eight-presidential-candidates-attend-our-rights-our-courts-nh-forum\/\"><span>co-hosted a New Hampshire candidate forum<\/span><\/a><span>, along with other dark money allies such as the Center for Reproductive Rights, NARAL Pro-Choice America, and All* Above All Action Fund. The court provided a platform for candidates to discuss court-packing and other so-called \u201creforms.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>With the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg before the 2020 election, President Trump had the unexpected opportunity to appoint Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Court \u2014 his third Supreme Court appointment in four years. This change in the Court\u2019s composition sent the radical Left into overdrive with its court packing campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Also during the 2020 campaign season, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JCNSeverino\/status\/1496621458713309187?s=20&#038;t=Z-O5zV8stw16gNwR0driWg\"><span>these very same dark money groups<\/span><\/a><span> began the process of identifying their favored nominees to the Supreme Court if Joe Biden were to be elected. Enter Ketanji Brown Jackson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Jackson was on Demand Justice\u2019s shortlist for the Supreme Court before Biden was elected.<\/span> <span>The group dreamt of replacing Justice Stephen Breyer, the most moderate member of the Court\u2019s liberal wing. After Biden\u2019s election, the organization led an unseemly but successful campaign to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalreview.com\/2022\/02\/breyer-retirement-a-triumph-for-dark-money-intimidation\/\"><span>pressure Breyer<\/span><\/a><span> off the Court, complete with a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jbendery\/status\/1380523176791248896?s=20&#038;t=t3ks7KB3-R9uPv-WMd7VVQ\"><span>billboard truck<\/span><\/a><span> near the Supreme Court exclaiming, \u201cBreyer Retire! It\u2019s time for a Black woman Supreme Court justice.\u201d The strategy was hardly a mystery \u2014 and apparently it worked. In early 2022, Justice Breyer announced his intention to retire.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Only days before President Biden announced his pick to succeed the retiring Justice Breyer, a coalition of liberal dark money groups \u2014including some of the same ones pushing court packing \u2014 sent a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JCNSeverino\/status\/1496621458713309187?s=20&#038;t=NYfQuYif5PUWJXbxUI5suQ\"><span>letter<\/span><\/a><span> to Biden making it clear that Jackson was their preferred pick for the Supreme Court.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And the dark money Left got what they wanted. Biden did indeed nominate Jackson, and Demand Justice pledged to spend $1 million or <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2022\/02\/07\/democratic-dark-money-groups-prepare-campaign-to-support-biden-supreme-court-pick.html\"><span>whatever was needed<\/span><\/a><span> to ensure her confirmation. <\/span><span>Today a confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson waits in the wings and will take her seat sometime in July, after the conclusion of the current Supreme Court term.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Jackson is only 51, so the Left should be thrilled at the prospect of a justice who will likely embrace their radical agenda for decades to come. But for them, that is not enough. They <\/span><span>won\u2019t be happy until the Supreme Court is well and truly packed with hardline liberal allies who will deliver the policies they want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And the dark-money Left is willing to put a wrecking ball to the Court in order to get what it wants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>Carrie Campbell Severino is President of the Judicial Crisis Network.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On April 7, the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. You would think that the left-wing dark money groups who pushed for her<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":1480744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1455939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1455939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1455939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1480744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1455939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1455939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1455939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}