Could the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision soon be overturned?
One year after the ruling - could the Supreme Court's Citizens
United decision soon be overturned? The progressive organization Common
Cause is asking the Department of Justice to look into possible
"conflict of interest" behind the scenes of the Citizens United ruling.
In the petition to the DOJ - Common Cause argues that Justices Clarence
Thomas and Antonin Scalia should have recused themselves from the
Citizens United case since they were actively involved in political
strategy sessions hosted by the billionaire Koch Brothers - two men who
benefited considerably from the Supreme Court's ruling.
The allegation is based on documents obtained by ThinkProgress
and the New York Times that suggest the two Justices attended a Palm
Springs event hosted by the Koch brothers around the same time the high
court was hearing arguments in the case. If the petition is successful -
the DOJ could disqualify Justices Scalia and Thomas from the ruling -
and thus overturn the decision altogether. Of course this wouldn't be
the first time Scalia and Thomas demonstrated a "conflict of interest".
Thomas didn't recuse himself from the Bush v. Gore decision in 2000
that handed the presidency over to George W. Bush even though Thomas's
wife was working on the Bush transition team. And Scalia went on a
hunting trip with former Vice President Dick Cheney right before he
ruled in favor of Cheney in a case before the high court. Overturning
Citizen's United based on these guys' impropriety should be just a start
- they should also be impeached for corruption.
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