Reps. Jim Jordan and Elise Stefanik are investigating the dismissal of Stefanik’s misconduct complaint against Washington, DC federal judge Beryl Howell over potentially prejudicial statements about former President Donald Trump’s criminal case involving the 2020 election. They wrote a letter to Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals requesting further information about the status of the complaint. The complaint had initially been claimed to be “wrongly filed” by the office of the DC Circuit Executive. Despite being resubmitted at least twice, the objection was still dismissed.
Stefanik and Jordan have asked for a briefing with the office of the DC Circuit Executive on the handling of the complaint. The office did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Post. Stefanik filed the complaint in December after Howell delivered a speech at the Women’s White Collar Defense Association awards gala suggesting that former President Trump was an “authoritarian.” Howell mentioned the “big lies” surrounding the 2020 election that led to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, quoting from historian Heather Cox Richardson’s book “Democracy Awakening.”
The judge also praised President Biden’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, who spearheaded the prosecutions of Trump in DC and Florida. Biden was found to have retained classified documents after his vice presidency, but the Justice Department did not recommend charges, considering him an “elderly man with a poor memory.” Biden, Speaker Pelosi, and other Democrats have denounced Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election as “the big lie.” Howell said that she sees the impact of these lies at the sentencing of individuals convicted for their actions on Jan. 6, 2021.
In her letter, Stefanik pointed out that Howell’s remarks may violate the Code of Conduct for United States Judges, specifically Canon 2B, which requires judges to act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary. Howell was nominated to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama in 2010 and served as the chief judge of the DC district court until 2023. Currently, she is a senior judge at the court. The Supreme Court is considering an appeal in the Jan. 6 prosecution, with Trump’s attorneys arguing immunity to contest election results while in office.
Both the DC district and circuit court of appeals have rejected motions to dismiss the case based on the immunity claims. The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision by the end of June before going into recess for the summer. Jordan and Stefanik continue to pursue information on the handling of the misconduct complaint against Judge Howell. The investigation revolves around potentially prejudicial statements made by Howell regarding the 2020 election and former President Trump’s criminal case, leading to concerns about the impartiality and integrity of the judiciary. The outcome of this investigation will have implications for how judicial conduct is monitored and enforced moving forward.
