Supreme Court vacancy

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INSIDER
Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh went to CPAC boss Matt Schlapp's holiday party, which Trump ally Stephen Miller and Rep. Matt Gaetz also attended: report


https://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court...150331909.html


Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh went to a holiday party at the home of Matt Schlapp — the chairman of the influential right-wing group Conservative Political Action Coalition — Friday night, Politico first reported.

Among other attendees at the Christmas party included Stephen Miller, a longtime ally to former President Donald Trump, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Trump's former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, and Rep.-elect George Santos of New York, Politico reported.

The appearance has sparked questions about possible conflicts of interest with a sitting Supreme Court justice attending a private party of right-wing leaders. Miller's conservative group, America First Legal, has filed briefs on cases that are pending before the Supreme Court, according to Bloomberg.

Christian evangelical minister Rev. Robert Schenck told The Times and testified before the House Judiciary Committee last week that he gained advance knowledge of the decision in the high-profile Supreme Court case, Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores. The 5-4 majority, in an opinion delivered by Justice Samuel Alito, ruled that paying for insurance that covered contraception violated the religious freedoms of privately held, for-profit companies.

Schenck, a former anti-abortion activist, told congressional lawmakers that he had been involved in a decades-long effort to try and influence the thinking of some of the conservative Supreme Court justices.