DOJ faces pressure to prosecute Supreme Court protesters
Conservatives are prodding the Justice Department to file charges against protesters who harassed Supreme Court justices after the 2022 leak of the draft opinion in the Dobbs abortion rights case, which would go on to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“So little has been done about attacks on the court,” Mollie Hemingway, the conservative political commentator, said in promoting her new book, “Alito,” a profile of Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who authored the Dobbs opinion.
There’s a five-year statute of limitations on the laws that make it illegal to protest with the intent to intimidate or influence a judge. That means the DOJ has about a year to bring charges.
The leak of the draft opinion set off a furor. The Supreme Court launched a futile search for the leaker, and abortion rights supporters showed up at the homes of the GOP appointees who would be the majority in the 5-4 ruling.
One individual even hosted a website telling people where to meet and sharing the justices’ home addresses.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley also backed the idea of prosecutions. The Iowa Republican told “Seen, Heard & Whispered” he wants to see the draft leaker and others who acted unlawfully toward the high court face justice.
The leak spurred Nicholas Roske to plan to assassinate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, a Trump appointee and one of those in the Dobbs majority. Roske, who now identifies as Sophie, traveled from California to Justice Kavanaugh’s home in Maryland on the morning of June 8, 2022, armed with a gun and knife, zip ties and tools to break into a home.
A judge sentenced Roske to about eight years in prison — far less than the 30 years prosecutors had sought — after a judge decided Roske turned away from the plot at the last minute.
Bidens rehire ’toxic’ aide
Former President Joseph R. Biden and his wife Jill Biden can’t seem to distance themselves from TJ Ducklo, despite reports that the spokesman has a history of bullying and sexually harassing a reporter.
Mr. Ducklo is back with the Bidens, this time as chief spokesman.
That’s surprising even to many on the left, who say his history should have made him persona non grata for the Bidens.
“President Biden and Dr. Biden shouldn’t be surprised that so much of the national media — and even many Democrats — no longer take them seriously or show them the respect deserving of a former first family. They continue to surround themselves with toxic spokespeople and advisers whose own credibility problems overshadow the case they’re trying to make,” a Democratic strategist told “Seen, Heard & Whispered.”
Mr. Ducklo was booted from the Biden White House press shop in 2021 for his remarks threatening to “destroy” a reporter who was working on a story about him. The spokesman reportedly made misogynistic comments suggesting the female reporter was jealous of a sexual relationship of a female colleague.
He was brought back to the reelection campaign in 2023.
Now he’s back, helping Mrs. Biden roll out her memoir, “View From the East Wing: A Memoir,” which was released June 2.
The Democratic strategist, who says Mr. Ducklo has been let go three times, said the hiring undermines Mr. Biden’s past criticism of bullies.
“You can’t rehabilitate your public image with people who have public relations and credibility problems of their own,” the strategist said. “The Bidens either have terrible judgment or incredibly low standards. Either way, they demonstrate once again why they can’t seem to read a room.”
Mr. Ducklo and the Bidens’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Conservative policy, comms folks make moves in Trump-era Washington
Kamran Daravi, who served in the Trump White House and Department of Health and Human Services, is joining Thorn Run Partners, a public relations and lobbying firm.
The bipartisan-missioned firm says Mr. Daravi, who worked for President Trump starting in 2016, will help clients on domestic policy, national security, infrastructure and healthcare.
Meanwhile, the Heritage Foundation has brought on Brian Phillips, a former communications strategist for Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Mike Lee of Utah.
Mr. Phillips will take over as vice president of communications.
The foundation found itself under scrutiny when its president, Kevin Roberts, defended Tucker Carlson’s hosting of White nationalist Nick Fuentes, sparking a departure of some of Heritage’s biggest names.
Mr. Roberts has since apologized and denounced the antisemitic rhetoric Mr. Fuentes is known for.
• Seen, Heard & Whispered is a weekly column taking you inside the conversations happening in Washington’s power corridors, the moves being made and the whispers that explain what’s really going on in the nation’s capital. Email tips to whispered@washingtontimes.com. Click here to receive this in your inbox every Friday morning.
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