ABC dragged potential Trump SCOTUS pick Don Willett for tweeting out bad dad jokes, Rick Astley lyrics and a picture of cornbread in the shape of Texas.
Willett, who currently serves on the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, is reportedly on President Trump’s short list of potential nominees to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s soon-to-be-vacant seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. And according to ABC, the man's "odd social media habits" raise questions over his ability to serve fairly as a SCOTUS judge.
From Twitter fingers to judicial decisions: Examining a potential SCOTUS nominee's odd social media habits. https://t.co/7BXwJbqLoC pic.twitter.com/4GhXpYMAZ7
— ABC News (@ABC) June 30, 2018
And this apparently includes the guy's 6-month-old tweets about puppies.
I wish I were kidding, but I'm not. Here are the four tweets ABC decided “raise questions for some of judicial impartiality”:
A joke about his young son confusing the term “eminent” for the rapper “Eminem.”
11YO—Daddy, why do politicians talk about Eminem's domain?
— Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) December 31, 2017
ME—That's eminent domain.
11YO—Huh?
ME—Sorry, you only get one shot.
🎤🍝 pic.twitter.com/9SVioHQCTZ
A tweet about some puppies.
My three favorite chocolates—pawsitively:
— Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) December 31, 2017
🐶 dark
🐶 white
🐶 milk pic.twitter.com/eiMVPJDa1a
A Rick Astley pun.
People of Earth—
— Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) January 1, 2018
In 2018, @JusticeWillett will never:
☐ give you up
☐ let you down
☐ run around
☐ desert you
☐ make you cry
☐ say goodbye
☐ tell a lie
☐ hurt you
Cornbread shaped like the Lone Star state.
When you're tired of cornbread shaped like Colorado and Wyoming. pic.twitter.com/C8Owilw8Ok
— Judge Don Willett (@JusticeWillett) December 30, 2017
"With Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announcing his retirement on Wednesday, and Willett’s name appearing on a list of Trump’s potential Supreme Court nominees, the judge’s frequent tweeting last year raises questions for some of judicial impartiality," ABC laments. (And, side note: Willett hasn’t even tweeted since January 1.)
Here's an actual blurb taken straight from their shocking exposé:
Legal scholars say there’s no legal provision prohibiting Supreme Court justices from sharing their opinions online or in speeches. The Supreme Court has maintained that the strict code of conduct that applies to lower court judges does not apply to them, but that doesn’t mean that the legal community looks favorably on justices making public comments.
“I believe those types of comments do considerable damage to the integrity of the court,” said Jonathan Turley, a constitutional law expert and a law professor at George Washington University who has criticized what he calls the “rise of the celebrity justice.”
Yep. A tweet about Labrador puppies may do “considerable damage to the integrity of the court.” That’s ABC's hot take of the day.
Of course, Twitter rightly called ABC out for writing an absolutely idiotic article on a judge’s social media posts about cornbread and dogs.
"The Texas shaped cornbread is especially troubling" (clutches pearls)
— John The Maintenance Guy (@JohnMaintenanc1) June 30, 2018
Grasping at straws much? His tweets are hysterical, and completely unrelated to what he does on the bench.
— The Real Keith (@keithdunn) July 1, 2018
Thanks for posting this, @ABC.
— PhilipTerzian (@PhilipTerzian) July 1, 2018
Speaking of 'odd,' the sister-in-law of @JusticeWillett's ex-neighbor once told me that he was known to matriculate regularly while a student at Duke Law School. #Resistance
I guess we are in the process of watching @ABC create #FakeNews
— instugator (@instugator) July 1, 2018
None of those highlighted tweets looked even remotely controversial, other than being dad jokes
— EB3 (@HeathenLiving) July 1, 2018
I hope the writer wasn't paid for this.
— Dan Wiberg (@DanWiberg) July 1, 2018
Posted cornbread shaped like Texas?? And he's not in prison?? #ShutTheHellUp
— Deb--RIP Charles Krauthammer🔨 (@debster7301) July 1, 2018
Even if you don't know or like him, this article is hilariously jarring when you read the text vs his tweets. It's written like his tweets are political & he's over here with cornbread & puppies.
— Be yoU (@brandyisme) July 1, 2018
Who wrote this dumpster fire of an article? He tells dad jokes, posts pictures of puppies, and support for up and coming lawyers. He's obviously a threat to the republic... pic.twitter.com/46otxHbbpy
— Tom Parrelly (@Papa_P_54) July 1, 2018
Good job exposing yourselves for the brazenly partisan hacks you are, ABC. Maybe next time, use something better than a judge’s rick-rolling dad joke to hide it.