The liberal media have a problem. The Supreme Court just handed down a new ruling that has the left going absolutely crazy, all while defending race-based gerrymandering. It’s not a good look for them, so naturally, the next option is just to whip up a phony Supreme Court scandal to undermine the court.
And that’s where MS NOW comes in. Senior legal reporter Lisa Rubin gave it the old college try and ended up making a fool of herself in the process.
What’s the big scandal she wants you to get hot and bothered about? The six conservative justices attended Tuesday night’s state dinner honoring King Charles III.
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Yep, the big scandal that makes our blood boil is that Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett all showed up at a state dinner with their spouses.
Oh no! Cue the outrage machine!
Rubin herself acknowledged that Supreme Court justices attending state dinners is not uncommon. Justice Antonin Scalia attended a 2012 Obama state dinner. Justice Stephen Breyer attended two — one in 2011 and another in 2022. Ruth Bader Ginsburg showed up to one, too, during the Obama years. Even during Trump’s first term, Roberts and his wife attended a 2018 state dinner without anyone declaring a constitutional crisis.
And yet the republic prevailed.
She even quoted Georgetown Law professor Steve Vladeck, whose take was less than the bombshell she needed. Vladeck confirmed that historically, justices attending state functions — even during high-profile cases involving the president — is not uncommon. His only real concern was optics. “The problem here,” he said, “is the symbolism, that these six justices — and only these six — were there. It does nothing to disabuse the appearance that the court is playing partisan political favorites, an impression this court should be invested in avoiding.”
Optics.
That’s it. That’s the scandal. A law professor thinks it looks bad.
Undeterred, Rubin pivoted to suggesting the justices may have violated the Supreme Court’s own code of conduct, adopted in 2023. She pointed to canons requiring justices to “act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary” and to avoid conveying that they hold “a special position to influence” the court. Attending a dinner, in her telling, might run afoul of rules against “extrajudicial activities” that “reflect adversely on the Justice’s impartiality.”
Attending. A. Dinner.
You know what I think looked bad? When Barack Obama lobbied Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to retire while he was still in office, just so he could pick her replacement. I guess that was okay, but six justices eating spring-herbed ravioli and Dover sole meunière is grounds for an ethics investigation.
Rubin also admitted — almost in passing — that she doesn’t even know whether the three liberal justices were invited. That’s a rather significant caveat when you’re building a story around the partisan optics of who showed up.
This is the left-wing media playbook at work here. When there’s no scandal, take a non-event, layer it with ominous framing, and hope the narrative takes off.
Editor’s Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.
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