Recent rulings by two federal judges in the District of Columbia illustrate how politically biased its entire judiciary has become.  Former Chief Judge Beryl Howell concluded that Donald Trump had not been sufficiently forthcoming in producing documents sought in a defamation suit‚ so she awarded judgment to the plaintiffs in a decision that is certain to be challenged on appeal. She also ruled there were grounds for a ‘crime-fraud exception‘ to Trump’s claims of attorney-client privilege. Earlier‚ she had publicly expressed the hope that federal prosecutors would go easier on J6 defendants who agreed to cooperate with the House’s heavily partisan J6 Committee‚ a rather astonishing breach of judicial ethics. (READ MORE: The Lies of Trump Prosecutor Jack Smith) Along the same lines‚ District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan scheduled Trump’s trial for his attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election for March 4‚ 2024‚ the day before the multitude of primary elections on Super Tuesday‚ claiming she had balanced Trump’s attorneys’ need to prepare against the public interest in resolving the case expediently. She also has consistently ruled against Trump’s efforts to subpoena J6 Committee materials. Unsurprisingly‚ both judges were appointed by President Barack Obama. At least at the District Court level‚ Trump has yet to prevail in any substantive motion. Judicial Corruption at Watergate Trials The rulings of these two judges are eerily reminiscent of those of the D.C. judges who came to prominence 50 years ago during the unfolding of the Watergate Scandal. Judge Chutkan‚ for example‚ has distinguished herself for meting out exceptionally harsh sentences to those convicted in the January 6 riots‚ including imposing jail time even when not recommended by prosecutors. One cannot help but be reminded of “Maximum John” Sirica‚ the self-appointed Watergate trial judge‚ who (at the secret behest of Samual Dash‚ Majority Counsel of the Senate Ervin Committee) imposed sentences of up to 40 years on the Watergate burglars‚ but conditioned possible reductions for those agreeing to cooperate with Dash’s committee‚ which was as stacked against Republicans as last year’s J6 Committee. Sirica was also the judge who famously refused to postpone the Cover-up Trial following Nixon’s dramatic resignation‚ despite recommendations by both prosecutors and defendants‚ saying on Aug. 19‚ 1974‚ “There is no better time to try this case than the present‚” and adding (rather astoundingly) “this case does not arouse passions‚ hatred and anger‚” which might have justified a delay.  To the monolithic media‚ Sirica was a national hero and was named Time magazine’s 1973 Man of the Year for his aggressive conduct in the Watergate Burglary Trial. But it is difficult to recall a single instance where he ruled in favor of any Watergate defendant. Perhaps the best critique of Judge Sirica is Renata Adler’s article published in Harper’s Magazine in August 2000. (READ MORE from Geoff Shepard: The 18½ Minute Gap in Watergate Recording) Additional documents surfacing in the past decade shed further light on Sirica’s extraordinary judicial conduct. They detail at least a dozen ex parte meetings with Watergate Special Prosecutors‚ including Archibald Cox‚ Leon Jaworski‚ Henry Ruth‚ and the Ervin Committee’s Majority Counsel Samuel Dash. Those hugely improper meetings‚ along with Sirica’s false sentencing of John Dean‚ show an undeniable lack of due process for Watergate Cover-up defendants. Sirica sentenced Dean‚ Nixon’s principal accuser‚ to a prison term of one to four years‚ for the avowed purpose of increasing his credibility as prosecutors’ lead witness. He then reduced that sentence to “time served” once Nixon’s senior aides had been convicted in the Cover-up Trial.  Had these documents not been improperly removed by the top prosecutors — and kept secret for 40 years — they could well have resulted in overturning Sirica’s Watergate verdicts.  Similarly‚ Judge Gerhard Gesell‚ appointed by Sirica to preside over the Plumbers Trial at the behest of prosecutors‚ also had a series of ex parte meetings with Watergate prosecutors‚ each dutifully noted in their internal records. This was particularly offensive as they successfully lobbied the judge to exclude any national security defense for White House Plumber investigations into leaks of highly classified materials. D.C. Circuit Corruption Continues Any hope that the bizarre rulings by Judges Howell and Chutkan might be reversed by an appeals court in the D.C. Circuit appears remote at best. Its current makeup stems from 10 Democrat appointments against three by Republicans — the desired result of Sen. Harry Reid’s ending the filibuster on judicial appointments in his infamous exercise of the “nuclear option” on Nov. 21‚ 2013. Judge Chutkan‚ in particular‚ is a direct beneficiary of Reid’s action‚ being nominated to the D.C. Circuit on Dec. 19‚ 2013 — just a month later. Political troubles on the D.C. Circuit did not originate recently. Perhaps most egregiously‚ there is Archibald Cox’s ex parte meeting with the D.C. Circuit’s chief judge‚ David Bazelon‚ in October 1973. Cox had become so concerned with Judge Sirica’s pro-prosecution rulings‚ that he feared they would win at trial‚ only to be reversed on appeal. This was particularly true because Sirica was already the most reversed judge in the District‚ typically for running roughshod over defendants’ due process rights to fair trials. (READ MORE from Geoff Shepard: Reevaluating the Saturday Night Massacre) In a highly improper secret meeting‚ Cox urged Bazelon to stack the appellate panel on any appeals from Judge Sirica’s criminal cases. Suggesting that the full nine-member appellate court hear all such appeals‚ thereby assuring the court’s dominant liberal bloc could see to it that Sirica’s rulings would not be overturned. That’s precisely what Bazelon did‚ hearing all 12 such appeals sua sponte en banc‚ that is‚ by the full court from the very beginning‚ a procedure that had never occurred — before or since — in any criminal appeal to any Circuit Court in our land.  The full story is best told by the distinguished jurist‚ D.C. Circuit Judge Laurence Silberman‚ in his last public appearance before his 2022 death. You can find his re-telling at 1:36:27: It’s not just that clear judicial bias has existed in the District for at least the past 50 years‚ the D.C. jury pool remains equally tainted. Its juries are selected from voter registration rolls‚ a pool that voted 95 percent against Trump in his 2016 victory against Hillary Clinton. This is a well-recognized‚ long-standing bias. According to Bob Woodward’s The Brethren (1979)‚ Justice Potter Stewart told Justices Byron White and William Brennan on July 13‚ 1974‚ the day following John Ehrlichman’s conviction in the Plumbers Trial‚ “Stuart said that‚ as a white man‚ he would not want to be tried in the District of Columbia‚ where the juries were predominantly black. ‘You bet your ass‚’ Brennan replied.”  One major difference since Watergate is today’s lack of a media monopoly. Fifty years ago‚ there were only three TV networks: ABC‚ NBC‚ and CBS‚ all headquartered within six blocks of each other in mid-town Manhattan‚ along with two dominant newspapers: The New York Times and the Washington Post‚ and two weekly news magazines‚ Time Magazine and Newsweek. It wasn’t just a single narrative‚ it was a single narrative generated by one group of New York City elitists. Today‚ at the very least‚ such seemingly biased judicial holdings are being publicly challenged — by Newsmax and Fox News‚ by podcasts and talk radio — and the American public is being offered the opportunity to learn first-hand of their potential impact.  Even so‚ one can only wonder about the possibility of private communications going on behind the scenes today — by and between judges‚ journalists‚ prosecutors‚ and Congress — all of which might just surface over the next 50 years. Geoff Shepard came to Washington in 1969 as a White House fellow after graduating from Harvard Law School. He served on President Richard Nixon’s White House staff for five years‚ including a year as deputy counsel on the president’s Watergate defense team. He has written three books about the internal prosecutorial documents he’s uncovered‚ many of which are posted on his website‚ www.shepardonwatergate.com.  The post Yesterday and Today: Judicial Bias in Washington‚ DC appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.