Judge Neil Gorsuch said Tuesday that groups spending millions of dollars to get him confirmed to the Supreme Court don’t speak for him — but he told Congress that if lawmakers want to know who’s contributing to the groups, they’ll have to pass new laws.
During the second day of confirmation hearings, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, repeatedly asked Judge Gorsuch about the “dark money” that is funding a $10 million ad confirmation campaign.
Mr. Whitehouse suggested the funding could be coming from Philip F. Anschutz, a billionaire that Judge Gorsuch once helped represent as a young lawyer, and who the New York Times reported has close ties with the Federalist Society, a group that helped President Trump write his list of potential Supreme Court nominees.
“I don’t know individuals who are contributing,” Judge Gorsuch said.
Mr. Whitehouse suggested that the judge could ask whoever is funding this campaign supporting his confirmation to come forward and be identified, but the judge demurred, saying instead that the entire confirmation process has become broken.
“I regret putting my family through this,” Judge Gorsuch said.
Mr. Whitehouse, one of the leading campaigners to try to overturn the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling that opened the door for broader spending in campaigns and political debates, asked what role the courts could play in fostering more disclosure.
Judge Gorsuch said there are competing constitutional interests, and the Supreme Court has found that Congress has an interest in disclosure, but there are also times when anonymous speech is important.
He said the right course of action is for Congress to pass a law, then have it tested in the courts.
“The ball is in your court,” Judge Gorsuch said.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.