Conservative justices have been all over the news as of late for ethics issues, most notably Justice Clarence Thomas.
Democrats love to act as though liberal justices are above reproach.
Well, that image just got shattered after an allegation was made against Justice Sotomayor regarding the buying and selling of her books.
Intimidation
When all those reports surfaced against Justice Thomas, I openly stated that conservatives needed to borrow a page out of that playbook.
It turns out, Justice Sotomayor's closet held a secret that is just a bit worse than allowing a buddy to pick up the tab on vacation.
The Associated Press broke a story recently charting that Sotomayor staffers were pressing colleges and libraries to buy books written by Sotomayor.
In one email, aide, Anh Le allegedly told staffers regarding an upcoming appearance at the Multnomah County Library, "For an event with 1,000 people and they have to have a copy of Just Ask to get into the line, 250 books is definitely not enough.
"Families purchase multiples and people will be upset if they are unable to get in line because the book required is sold out."
For a Clemson appearance, the school offered to buy 60 signed copies of Sotomayor's book, but her staffers pressed for 400.
A Supreme Court spokesperson responded to the report, stating, "Judges, including Justices, routinely travel and speak to university, college and law school audiences and affiliated individuals and entities.
"Judicial staff play an important role in assisting on issues of ethics, travel, and security.
"Chambers staff assist the Justices in complying with judicial ethics guidance for such visits, including guidance relating to judges' publications. For example, judicial ethics guidance suggests that a judge may sign copies of his or her work, which may also be available for sale, but there should be no requirement or suggestion that attendees are required to purchase books in order to attend," reported Fox News.
The AP report went on to say that the publisher, Penguin Random House, was also applying pressure on public institutions to buy copies of Sotomayor's books.
Dig deep enough, you will find dirt on anyone. Is it "real" dirt? Well, that does not seem to matter much these days.
