Gorsuch didn’t disclose CEO of law firm with Supreme Court cases bought property: Report
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Real estate co-owned by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was purchased by the CEO of a major law firm days after Gorsuch was confirmed to the high court, according to a new report.
Brian Duffy, the chief executive of Greenberg Traurig, bought a 3,000-square-foot home in Granby, Colorado, on April 16, 2017. The property was co-owned by Gorsuch and two other parties, according to real estate records cited by Politico. Gorsuch was confirmed on April 7, 2017.
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Gorsuch reportedly held a 20% stake in the home and profited between $250,001 and $500,000 from the $1.825 million sale. Gorsuch declined to note the identity of the property buyer, according to the justice’s federal disclosure forms. Gorsuch listed as his source of the transaction only the name that he and his two co-owners gave themselves, Walden Group.
Duffy has had some level of involvement in at least 22 cases before the high court, according to the outlet. Those cases include ones in which Greenberg has either filed amicus briefs or represented parties. In 12 cases in which Gorsuch’s opinion is recorded, he sided with Greenberg clients eight times and against them four times.
The guidelines for justices do not prevent them from engaging in financial transactions with people who have an interest in the court’s decision, but Gorsuch’s dealings with Duffy further heighten a recent concern raised by predominantly Democratic lawmakers about ethical loopholes in the court’s disclosure procedures.
Duffy responded to the report, stating he has never personally argued cases before the court and has never interacted with the justice socially.
“I’ve never spoken to him,” Duffy said. “I’ve never met him.”
“We have seen a steady stream of revelations regarding Supreme Court Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and of public servants,” Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) wrote in a statement. “The need for Supreme Court ethics reform is clear, and if the Court does not take adequate action, Congress must. The Senate Judiciary Committee will be closely examining these matters in the coming weeks.”
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Durbin called on Chief Justice John Roberts last week to testify next month on the court’s ethics rules in light of recent reports from ProPublica revealing a wealthy Republican donor’s luxury travel gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas and an unreported real estate sale between the two.
The Washington Examiner contacted the Supreme Court for a response.
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Tags: Neil Gorsuch, Ethics, Real Estate, Colorado, News
Original Author: Kaelan Deese
Original Location: Gorsuch didn’t disclose CEO of law firm with Supreme Court cases bought property: Report