This prescient story from early 2017 outlined a disturbing connection between newly elected President Donald Trump and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Kennedy: [Inaudible]
Trump: Very nice, thank you, and coming from you. And say hello to your boy. Special guy.
Kennedy: Your kids have been very nice to him.
Trump: Well, they love him and they love him in New York. He’s a great guy. (Pointing to Chief Justice Roberts) Good swearing-in. You’ve got a good guy.
This conversation relates to Anthony Kennedy’s son, Justin Kennedy, who was co-CEO of LNR Property LLC during a critical time for the Trump family. Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner famously (and unwisely) purchased 666 5th Avenue in Manhattan for the price of $1.8 billion dollars at the height of the housing market in 2007. Following the Great Recession, Kushner was in need of funds, and Anthony Kennedy’s son Justin provided a $1.2 billion lifeline in 2011.
There has been no shortage of speculation as to other major sources of money for the Trump family. [The Russia connection has been explored](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/opinion/trumps-shadowy-money-trail.html), though concrete connections are hard to confirm due to the lack of publicly disclosed financial information by the president. [Though public statements by members of the Trump family](https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/05/eric-trump-russia-investment-golf-course) add gasoline to the fire.
We don’t rely on American banks. We have all the funding we need out of Russia. — Eric Trump
Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, announced two days ago [after a series of 5–4 rulings in the Trump administration’s favor](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/27/conservative-supreme-court-term-trump-travel-ban/715254002/), provides Trump the opportunity to reshape the court for decades to come.
But directly relevant to the intersection of Kennedy, Trump, and Russia is that the Supreme Court [may be the final word on the legal status of crimes committed by the president](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/06/supreme-court-russia-investigation-mueller-anthony-kennedy/). It is an open question as to whether the president can do this. Any google search shows this question is on a lot of minds.
Kennedy’s retirement is a watershed moment for the conservative legal movement, but it also represents a fundamental realignment of the court by the same person they may well have to decide is answerable to the law. For Americans to have confidence in their decision, they need to have confidence that the court is a) above politics and b) above the shady, murky world of real estate finance and Russian oligarchs.
The opposite point of view
Two scholars who I deeply respect have weighed in on this. I am not convinced that this line of inquiry should be dismissed. It is a reasonable for Americans be discomforted by $1.2 billion moving between the children of two men who are reshaping 2 out of 3 of the branches of government. But, it is also important not to let the passions of partisanship sway the voice of reason.
