A lifetime appointment to the federal bench is a helluva thank you gift! Judge Ed Artau of Florida’s Fourth District Court of Appeal was confirmed to the District Court for the Southern District of Florida, along party lines because it is the year of our Lord 2025.
Artau made legal news recently after he, as part of an appellate panel, signed off on Donald Trump’s… interesting legal theory that he can file a defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board for refusing to rescind the award given to journalists reporting on the Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. But more than just join the decision, Artau wrote a concurrence endorsing Trump’s version of the election, writing, “‘FAKE NEWS.’ ‘The phony Witch Hunt.’ And ‘a big hoax.’ President Donald J. Trump has publicly used these phrases to describe the now debunked allegations that he colluded with the Russians to win the 2016 presidential election.”
And just a few months later, Artau got a nomination to a lifetime position.
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Democrats have also questioned the timing of the nom, as reported by Reuters:
Democratic lawmakers have questioned the timing of Artau’s nomination, as he disclosed he had spoken with Senator Rick Scott’s general counsel about a potential nomination in the days after Trump was elected in November 2024 and interviewed with the White House two weeks after the court ruled.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, on the Senate floor on Monday accused Artau of a conflict of interest, saying he presided over the case while simultaneously “begging Donald Trump and Republican senators for a judgeship.”
“He’s one of the most blatant cases of quid pro quo I have ever seen,” Schumer said.
Artau is also on the vanguard of far-right jurists itching to overturn the defamation precedent enshrined in New York Times v. Sullivan. Which seems like another indicator that the First Amendment is about to get a troubling makeover.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. 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 or Mastodon @[email protected].