Real Housewives of the Supreme Court! We Reveal the Justices' Partners Who Made Headlines for All the Wrong Reasons
Ashley Estes Kavanaugh
Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh's wife, Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, made headlines in 2018 when she sided with her husband amid the sexual misconduct allegations against him.
Ashley constantly spoke up to defend Brett, and she also sat beside him in an interview when they were questioned about Christine Blasey Ford and Deborah Ramirez's claims in 2018.
She told Fox News: "No. I mean, I know Brett. I've known him for 17 years. And this is not at all…it's really hard to believe. He's decent, he's kind, he's good. I know his heart. This is not consistent with Brett."
The wife's decision to support her husband became a test amid the #MeToo era, as the movement saw an increase in the number of women believing female accusers.
Jane Sullivan Roberts
Jane Sullivan Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts, Jr., reportedly made more than $10 million in commissions between 2007 and 2014 while working at elite law firms.
A complaint, filed by whistleblower Kendal B. Price, argued that Jane's commission payments were due to her husband's role. Kendal told Insider it should be public knowledge, resulting in her filing the complaint.
Kendal said: "When I found out that the spouse of the chief justice was soliciting business from law firms, I knew immediately that it was wrong.
"During the time I was there, I was discouraged from ever raising the issue. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go."
Marie Louise Gorsuch
Both Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and his wife, Marie Louise Gorsuch, were mired in an ethical controversy involving the 40-acre property he co-owned.
Neil, a Donald Trump-nominated Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, did not have a buyer for two years starting in 2015. But nine days after the Senate confirmed his lifetime appointment on the Supreme Court, the chief executive of Greenberg Traurig Brian Duffy acquired the property.
The firm has had several cases before the court.
While the Supreme Court does not prevent justices from having financial transactions with people with an interest in court decisions, Neil's move to leave the buyer's identity blank reportedly exposed the court's issues in disclosure procedures.
Kedric Payne, director of ethics at the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, told Politico: "This transaction appears to also require naming the buyer. The public has a right to know that justices will fully comply with disclosure rules instead of providing only a tiny peek into their financial disclosures."
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Martha-Ann Alito
Speaking with CNN, Emily Baden — the neighbor who reportedly had a confrontation with Samuel A. Alito, Jr.'s wife, Martha-Ann Alito — spoke up about the reports about the dispute and denied that she prompted the incidents.
Samuel initially said his wife installed an upside-down U.S. flag outside their Virginia home after a verbal dispute between Martha-Ann and Emily. However, the neighbor claimed the confrontation only happened one month after the flag was displayed on January 17, 2021.
According to Emily, Martha-Ann called her and her husband a fascist during the February argument.
CNN's phone records seemingly confirmed Emily's account, as her then-boyfriend and now-husband called the police on February 15, 2021, to report Martha-Ann's "unprompted harassment".
Sailors originally displayed the upside-down flag as a symbol of distress. Recently, it became associated with the pro-Trump "Stop the Steal" movement.
Following the issue, newly unearthed recordings of Samuel and his wife speaking about the flag controversy and abortion were leaked. Liberal activist and documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor posted the audio on X, and it was later captured by Rolling Stone.
In Windsor's recording, Martha-Ann described her critics as “feminazis” before threatening to file lawsuits.
Martha-Ann said: “There’s a five-year defamation statute of limitation. Don’t get angry. Get even.”
Virginia Thomas
Virginia "Ginni" Thomas has made headlines due to different scandals.
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas' wife found herself in her own ethical controversy when she exchanged text messages with then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to encourage him to support Donald's false election fraud claims.
She was also caught up in a payments scandal when The Washington Post revealed that Republican activist Leonard Leo directed Kellyanne Conway to pay Ginni's lobbying firm and instructed there be “no mention of Ginni, of course” in the paperwork.
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