Menendez, Booker, Colleagues Release Report Exposing the Judicial Crisis Network's Central Role in a Scheme to Capture and Control the Supreme Court

Press Release

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) joined the Senate Democratic Caucus in releasing a new report in their Captured Courts series on the dark-money group the Judicial Crisis Network (JCN) and its role in right-wing donor interests' scheme to capture and control the Supreme Court. The report identifies JCN as a central player in a much larger dark-money machine to pursue their right-wing donors' policy agenda through the courts -- an agenda they cannot achieve through the branches of government accountable to voters. That agenda comes at the expense of working Americans -- jeopardizing health care and reproductive rights, blocking climate action, denying equal justice under law, and more.

Even before President Biden picked his replacement for Justice Stephen Breyer, JCN launched a multi-million dark-money ad campaign to attack the nominee. The group's assault escalated with the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, including a new multi-million dollar ad campaign smearing Judge Jackson. During her confirmation hearings, Senate Republicans, JCN, and their dark-money allies used Judge Jackson's confirmation hearing to escalate attacks even further. The attacks are part of a strategy to muddy the waters about right-wing dark money's influence over the Court, the senators write in the new report.

"The perverse influence of special interest groups and their dark money only serves to weaken and undermine our democracy, effectively silencing the voice of the American people," said Sen. Menendez. "The millions of dollars in dark money spent by groups like JCN to pack our courts with far-right judges and erode the independence of our judiciary is at the center of the crisis that made the January 6 insurrection possible and threatens the very foundations of our Union. Our democracy works better when it works for everyone, not just those at the very top. Congress must not languish in passing the DISCLOSE Act."

"Our judiciary should be free from the influence of special interest groups such as JCN, which spends millions of dollars in dark-money operations to elevate federal judges who then pursue a policy agenda that is contrary to the will of a majority of Americans," said Sen. Booker. "This undermines the public's faith in our court system and sidelines the voices of Americans. I am proud to support the DISCLOSE ACT with my Democratic colleagues to finally put an end to these dark-money activities and make our courts independent from outside influence."

Under Republican Presidents, JCN mobilized to propel judicial nominees, all screened by the Federalist Society, through the Senate confirmation process and into the judiciary. Once there, GOP-appointed judges and justices are free to support unpopular policies pushed by the right-wing donor class. JCN and its staff also file amicus curiae briefs before the Supreme Court to make explicit their donors' views on the issues.

JCN reorganized in late 2019 as the Concord Fund to better hide its assets and identity, and subsequently took in "nearly as much in 2020 as it did in the entire decade prior." This dark-money funding, combined with the coupling of 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit entities, allows organizations like JCN to influence the levers of government while masking the identities of their funders.

Now that President Biden is appointing judges and federal officials who are not beholden to any special-interests, right-wing dark-money groups have shifted to muddying the waters and attacking President Biden's nominees as their captured Court blocks the President's legislative and regulatory agenda. At the same time, Republicans in the Senate have filibustered each attempt by all 50 Senate Democrats to pass the DISCLOSE Act, which would end the scourge of dark money in our politics.

Joining Sens. Menendez and Booker in signing the report were Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md), Ben Cardin (D-Md), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

The full report can be found HERE.

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