Watchdog Group Demands Probe of D.C. Circuit Judge’s Retirement

Demand Justice, a progressive judicial watchdog group, is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to investigate whether Judge Thomas Griffith’s recently-announced decision to retire violated ethics rules.

Griffith, a 2005 appointee of Republican President George W. Bush, announced March 5 that he was retiring from the bench in September, just ahead of the 2020 election.

Subsequently, reports emerged that U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) was privately urging conservative judges to retire to ensure that President Donald Trump can fill their vacancies. There are 92 federal judges that are or will be eligible to retire ...