The Democrats have launched a campaign against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and the gifts he allegedly took from a millionaire friend, but it seems that one of their preferred Justices has been implicated in a much larger scandal.
According to The Daily Wire, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor received millions of dollars from Penguin Random House as compensation for hearing cases involving the publisher.
“In 2010, she got a $1.2 million book advance from Knopf Doubleday Group, a part of the conglomerate. In 2012, she reported receiving two advance payments from the publisher totaling $1.9 million,” it said.
“In 2013, Sotomayor voted in a decision for whether the court should hear a case against the publisher called Aaron Greenspan v. Random House, despite then-fellow Justice Stephen Breyer recusing after also receiving money from the publisher. Greenspan was a Harvard classmate of Mark Zuckerberg’s who wrote a book about the founding of Facebook and contended that Random House rejected his book proposal and then awarded a deal to another author who copied his book and eventually turned it into the movie The Social Network,” the report said.
“In 2017, Sotomayor began receiving payments each year from Penguin Random House itself, which continued annually through at least 2021, the most recent disclosure available, and totaled more than $500,000. In all, she received $3.6 million from Penguin Random House or its subsidiaries, according to a Daily Wire tally of financial disclosures,” it said.
“In October 2019, children’s author Jennie Nicassio petitioned the Supreme Court to hear her lawsuit against Penguin Random House alleging that the book publisher had copied her book by selling one that was nearly identical. On the same day that the petition was distributed to the justices, Sotomayor received a $10,586 check from the publisher,” it said.
The lower court’s ruling in favor of the publisher would stand after the appeals court’s denial of the “writ of certiorari” in February 2020.
The publisher’s parent firm sent Justice Sotomayor their largest cheque ever, for $82,807, the very next month.
Justice Sotomayor’s vote is unknown, although it is known that she did not withdraw from the case as Justice Breyer did once more.
Even though she earned $340,000, or one-tenth of what Justice Sotomayor did, from the publisher during that time, Justice Breyer regularly recused himself from matters involving them.
The publisher was the source of the vast majority of Justice Sotomayor’s non-Supreme Court income, and it even paid for her travel expenses so she could attend speaking engagements.
Conservative podcast host and leader of Turning Point USA, Charlie Kick, weighed in on the situation. “So Liberal SCOTUS Justice Sotomayor took over $3 million from Penguin Random House and didn’t recuse herself from multiple copyright cases involving the publisher—with rulings that sided in favor of Random House and saved them mountains of $$—even though Justice Breyer did recuse himself while getting paid far less by the same publisher. Given the breathless coverage over contrived controversies involving Justices Thomas and Gorsuch, it’s great to see solid conservative reporting punching back and giving the left a taste of its own medicine.”
So Liberal SCOTUS Justice Sotomayor took over $3 million from Penguin Random House and didn’t recuse herself from multiple copyright cases involving the publisher—with rulings that sided in favor for Random House and saved them mountains of $$—even though Justice Breyer did…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) May 4, 2023
“Sonia Sotomayor received over $3 million for her books from Penguin Random House publishing and then didn’t recuse herself from a case in which they were involved before SCOTUS where the company stood to lose money. What did Clarence Thomas do again?” Greg Price said.
Sonia Sotomayor received over $3 million for her books from Penguin Random House publishing and then didn't recuse herself from a case in which they were involved before SCOTUS where the company stood to lose money.
What did Clarence Thomas do again?https://t.co/PQxF53RmC1
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) May 4, 2023
“WOW – Justice Sotomayor took $3M from Random House and voted on a key decision where the publisher stood to lose money, even as similarly-positioned colleague recused. Wait until Politico hears about this,” speaking about the website that first reported the Justice Thomas scandal, Matt Whitlock remarked.
WOW – Justice Sotomayor took $3M from Random House and voted on a key decision where the publisher stood to lose money, even as similarly-positioned colleague recused.
Wait until Politico hears about this. https://t.co/IX7OJQOzix
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) May 4, 2023
Justice Sotomayor was supported by liberal activist Ed Krassenstein, who also noted that Justice Neil Gorsuch had a financial connection with the publisher.
The allegations against Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow are definitely not the same as the attacks being made on Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Yes, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor did write a book and she published it through Penguin Random House, as did Justice Gorsuch.
Yes,… pic.twitter.com/tuOWXVNarr
— Ed Krassenstein (@EdKrassen) May 4, 2023
“The allegations against Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow are definitely not the same as the attacks being made on Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Yes, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor did write a book and she published it through Penguin Random House, as did Justice Gorsuch. Yes, she did make a fortune,” the activist said.
“No, she did not recuse herself from cases involving the publisher. Neither did Gorsuch. Yes, this information was declared. No, there is no rule saying that a judge must recuse themselves from unrelated cases involving a publisher they used. Some judges have recused themselves in these situations, while others have not,” he said.
“This is not the same as receiving money from a large political donor and then hiding it by not declaring it, like Thomas allegedly did. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this comparison being made mostly by the right,” he said.