Is This Proof Judge Hardiman Is Trump's Supreme Court Pick?
How absolutely perfect would it be if Trump's SCOTUS pick were spoiled via Twitter?
UPDATE (4:49 p.m.): Please note the multiple UPDATES to this post.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Above the Law tipsters are the very best.
You let us know all the craziness going down at Biglaw, law schools, and the legal profession generally. And now someone has noted an unusual tweet that just may be the final clue as to Donald Trump’s pick to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court:
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By the way, how absolutely perfect would it be if Trump’s SCOTUS pick were spoiled via Twitter?
Anyway, you might think, hey, that’s just some random person’s opinion. Thoughts on the next SCOTUS pick are as common as flies on s**t. All true, but our intrepid tipster has done some good old-fashioned internet sleuthing that makes this guess seem a little more than random.
First of all, Judge Thomas M. Hardiman lives in the Pittsburgh suburb of Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania. Not surprising for a Third Circuit judge with chambers in Pittsburgh, but that’s not the interesting part. There’s reason to believe the predicting Twitter user, @jaguarfx, is also a resident of Fox Chapel. In addition to tweeting about the greater Pittsburgh area (and the Steelers, natch), @jaguarfx follows the Fox Chapel weather account and the account of the Fox Chapel Lacrosse/field hockey coach.
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So it seems quite possible that @jaguarfx really is Hardiman’s neighbor and has spied the federal security watching the judge in advance of being thrust into the spotlight as the latest Supreme Court pick. Of course, this is mostly speculation, and as our tipster noted, even if Hardiman does have U.S. marshals surrounding him, that may not be dispositive:
If judge hardiman were indeed the pick, I bet he’d have extra security—but he could also have it just because of his suddenly higher public profile.
Like a very special edition of The Bachelorette, Donald Trump will reveal his Supreme Court nominee in primetime tonight. According to the prediction markets, Neil Gorsuch and Hardiman are the two frontrunners, so this little tidbit may not change anyone’s opinion as to who the real pick will be. But I will note Judge Gorsuch hasn’t (yet) canceled the class he teaches at Colorado Law for today.
UPDATE (2:40 p.m.): Whoa! Per Ariane de Vogue and Pamela Brown of CNN (gavel bang: @scotusreporter), President Trump has summoned both jurists to Washington.
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UPDATE (4:49 p.m.): Judge Gorsuch is leading Judge Hardiman by a wide margin in the prediction markets, and at least one publication claims that Judge Gorsuch will be the nominee. So does Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review.
UPDATE (9:00 p.m.): Judge Hardiman did not appear at the press conference announcing Judge Gorsuch as the nominee. Contrary to earlier reports, it appears that Judge Hardiman did not come to Washington after all.
Earlier: Is Judge Neil Gorsuch The Supreme Court Nominee?
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
