The following letter to the editor by NLPC Counsel Paul Kamenar appeared in the Washington Times:
As a member of the Supreme Court Bar, I had the privilege last week to sit in the front section, reserved for bar members, during the oral argument challenging President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship (“WATCH: Supreme Court justices skeptical of Trump’s birthright citizenship order,” Web, April 1).
Mr. Trump sat a few rows behind me in the first row of the public section. Although his presence was a first for a sitting president, it was understandable given that he was a party to the case.
More surprising was seeing actor Robert De Niro, a strident Trump critic, sitting a few feet away, to the right, in prime seating reserved for the justices’ families and guests.
So which liberal justice thought it was appropriate to invite such a visible Trump critic as his or her special guest to this high-profile case? If Justice Clarence Thomas or Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. had invited a prominent Trump supporter, such as Sean Hannity, to sit there, then there would have been immediate calls for that justice’s recusal for appearances of bias.
