Sotomayor’s Staff Pressured Schools, Libraries to Buy Her Books Even for Non-Book Events
Sotomayor’s staff suggested selling books at all events, including a graduation commencement at UC-Davis!
BuT cLaReNcE tHoMaS!
The Associated Press reported that Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s staff pushed colleges and libraries who have hosted her to buy her books.
Sotomayor earned $3.7 million since 2009, when she joined the SCOTUS. Sotomayor’s salary is $285,400 a year.
The AP mentioned how Sotomayer’s events have been kept “largely out of public view.” But man, we know everything about Justice Clarence Thomas!
The AP also seems shocked “that the justices’ conduct spans their conservative-liberal split.”
NO. WAY. That’s impossible. Only conservatives and those on the right are greedy and unethical!
I hope this story gains traction:
In her case, the documents reveal repeated examples of taxpayer-funded court staff performing tasks for the justice’s book ventures, which workers in other branches of government are barred from doing. But when it comes to promoting her literary career, Sotomayor is free to do what other government officials cannot because the Supreme Court does not have a formal code of conduct, leaving the nine justices to largely write and enforce their own rules.
“This is one of the most basic tenets of ethics laws that protects taxpayer dollars from misuse,” said Kedric Payne, a former deputy chief counsel at the Office of Congressional Ethics and current general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan government watchdog group in Washington. “The problem at the Supreme Court is there’s no one there to say whether this is wrong.”
In 2019, library and community colleges in Portland, OR, asked Sotomayor to host an event for her children’s book Just Ask!
Those at the institutions worked hard to prepare for the event. The AP noted the people worked “long hours and accommodated the shifting requests of Sotomayor’s court staff.”
But then the staff emailed the institutions about the lack of book purchases.
Anh Lee, an assistant for Sotomayor, told Lyndsey Runyan of the Multnomah County Library that they need to order more than 250 copies of the book for an event with 1,000 people.
“Families purchase multiples and people will be upset if they are unable to get in line because the book required is sold out,” wrote Le.
Runyan told Le to work with the people at Penguin:
“Can you please show me the screen where people can purchase books?” Le wrote library staffers as they prepared to make the tickets available. “Are you just placing Just Ask … on the portal or all of the Justice’s books.”
When the free tickets were quickly snapped up, she asked library officials to publicize that those who could not get tickets could still meet the justice if they purchased a book.
“Please also let them know that they can attend the signing line to meet the Justice even if they are not able to attend the event,” Le wrote in an Aug. 26, 2019, email.
A day later, she followed with another email, concerned that not enough of the people who got tickets had also purchased a book. Records indicate that the roughly 550 free tickets made available to the public (the rest were reserved for VIP guests) resulted in the advance purchase of only 28 books.
“Is there a reminder going out that people need to purchase a book at the event or bring a book to get into the signing line?” Le wrote. “Most of the registrants did not purchase books.”
Then there’s the cost of the event. Portland Community College offered $1,000 to host the event, while the library offered another $1,500.
The costs eventually rose to over $20,000.
Le, who graduated from the college, micromanaged the event, according to the emails. She wanted the largest venue and even approved the TV angles used during the event.
Even without events, the staff pushed for books:
As Sotomayor prepared for commencement weekend at the University of California, Davis law school, her staff pitched officials there on buying copies of signed books in connection with the event. Before a visit to the University of Wisconsin, the staff suggested a book signing.
Aaron Tang seemed to enthusiastically agree with Anh that there would be an interest in ordering Sotomayor’s book at the event.
Yes, Le suggested a table to sell books at the commencement. She also casually mentioned Sotomayor was signing 11,000 for one school at the time.
One UC-Davis law school official didn’t like the idea. Kelley Weis wrote to the dean:
I’m not sure this is a good idea, have we ever allowed other speakers to sell or offer their books (that we have purchased for guests)?
“I think we could definitely give signed copies to our VIP guests. And potentially have a table of books if we do a private event with students, donors, etc at King Hall.
Since this is a commencement address and not a speaking event, I think having a table of her books could be out of place.
The dean thought, “it would be okay.” Weiss responded, “No need to check around – if it’s ok by you and a Supreme Court Justice I think we’re covered!”
UC-Davis only ordered 410 signed copies of Sotomayor’s memoir, costing $6,500. Sotomayor had to cancel after she fell and fractured her shoulder.
UC-Davis requested a refund. Le asked for final confirmation about the cancellation. It eventually took place.
Michigan State University bought the 11,000 books Le mentioned in her email to UC-David. It paid over $100,000 for Sotomayor’s memoir My Beloved World. The school sent copies to Sotomayor to sign for incoming first-year students.
In 2017, Sotomayor planned a visit to Clemson University. The school offered to purchase 60 signed copies of her book.
“60 books to sign is no problem, as most institutions order in the ranges of 400 and up,” wrote an assistant.
Totally just a casual mention of other schools buying at least 400. No biggie.
The University at Albany in New York purchased 3,700 books. Stony Brook University in New York bought 3,900 in 2019 for a first-year reading program.
Penguin Random House publishes Sotomayor’s books and helps organize the events. SCOTUS has heard many cases involving the publisher, but she has never recused herself from the cases.
SCOTUS told the AP: “Justice Sotomayor would have recused in cases in which Penguin Random House was a party, in light of her close and ongoing relationship with the publisher. An inadvertent omission failed to bring Penguin’s participation in several cases to her attention; those cases ultimately were not selected for review by the Court. Chambers’ conflict check procedures have since been changed.”
A person close to Sotomayor insisted she “has not and will not profit from” her memoir sales beyond the $3.1 million advance the publisher gave her. To get a profit, the person said, “purchases of hundreds of thousands of additional books — more than double the purchases to date” would have to happen.
The AP mentioned that Sotomayor had earned at least $400,000 in royalties since 2019 for her book Just Ask!
I’m shaking my head.
I doubt any of this, unless you’re Clarence Thomas, gets a lot of attention.
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Comments
Anh Le is sure a go-getter. Do you think she’s possibly getting 10% of the book sales? Of course, when somebody like Vivek does something similar, it’s a “Ponzi scheme” (not even a mathematically literate claim).
What is the difference between a beggar who is blind begging for change and a justice on the Supreme Court who is supposed to be blind who begging you to buy books?
1. One is poor and one is rich.
2. One is weak and one is strong.
3. One has shame and one has no shame.
4. ____________________________________________.
One knows how to beg, and the other is an arrogant ignoramus.
They make it sound like she is taking a moral stand, but the reality is her memoir is that of a diversity hire… a book no one wants to read unless it’s a how t0 cash in like she did on her minority status.
has not and will not profit from” her memoir sales beyond the $3.1 million advance the publisher gave her. To get a profit, the person said, “purchases of hundreds of thousands of additional books — more than double the purchases to date” would have to happen.
It’s not a total loss. When Random House has another issue before the court she probably won’t recuse herself.
Books and speaking fees are payoffs to the Leftist elites, been that way for a long time.
It’s also bribery like Bill Clinton’s speach in Russia
It’s a scheme for “conservative “ talking heads, hosts, Tv, radio personalities too
If I hear, welcome Mr so and so and please by his book, it’s outstanding
Available on Amazon
Most of the multi-million-dollar book deals awarded to pols are probably nothing but fronts for money laundering. It’s not like their prose is so enrapturing, or that people are really that interested in the pearls of wisdom dropping from their pea-sized brains.
The Empathetic, Wise Latina writing books is kind of funny, given that she told a professor, while already at Princeton, that Spanish was easier to write in than English because Spanish didn’t have adjectives. … talk about affirmative action …
And, while on the bench, Sotomayor seemed to have a problem understanding the difference between “eminent” and “imminent”.
I would expect anything actually written by the Empathetic, Wise Latina to be done in crayon.
I knew all I needed to know about her intelligence when I heard her “wise Latina” remarks quoted. Anyone who’d say that in public when they intend to seek higher public office is a total fool.
Ethics is a simple concept that too many people try to make far too complicated. If it looks bad it is bad. What’s bad? Easy, if you or your ‘side’ would use whatever the thing is a club to beat your political opposition over the head with then it is ‘bad’. Further if you wouldn’t defend your most bitter enemy from attacks over whatever the thing is then you shouldn’t do it either.
They want her ideas out there, hoping somebody finds them interesting.
Catherine Pugh ended up in slammer for stuff like this.
The “dim-witted and corrupt Latina.”
“I hope this story gains traction”
I guarantee the entire legacy liberal “mainstream” press will have precisely zero interest in this story.
Search engines will make sure no search results for it produce anything – just like how they memory-holed the fact that Sotomayor was, for many years, a member of Casa de Maryland – an org. dedicated to illegal immigration which openly advocated for the “reconquest” by Mexico of most of the American West.
C’mon, man . . .How is a wise SCOTUS Latinx supposed to make a buck on the side???
So should we issue and enforce ethical guidelines for public institutions or shout no more big government and let institutions sell whatever books they want?
I think Larry Sinclair is a better writer.
Barack Obama & Larry Sinclair: Cocaine, Sex, Lies & Murder?
https://www.abebooks.com/9780578013879/Barack-Obama-Larry-Sinclair-Cocaine-0578013878/plp
A former mayor of Baltimore behaved similarly, but never even bothred to have the book printed. Someone should check
Sotomayer isn’t original with her scamming. She simply took a lesson from the late Democrat Speaker of the House, Jim Wright, who sold a crappy memoir to cronies and constituents by the case. If Sotomayor is so smart, she would have realized fake charities are a better bet.
As for her staff, all those years in “prestigious law schools, only to graduate and get a job as Sotomayor’s pimps. Sad, but predictable.
Kinda like Hillary Clinton’s “sale” of 14 million books, which are likely bought by Soros and sitting in a warehouse alongside Obama’s 63 million dollar book deal for a book no one has ever read.
In other words; money laundering of bribes.
The so called Wise Latina is very woke agenda driven and the author of singularly poor quality judicial opinions-she should audition for a job on The View
And Clarence Thomas did what?
Set up a table with books by Sotomayor and Clarence Thomas and see which ones sell faster.
.