Federalist Society contributor demands apology after Kinzinger claims he ‘sold out the Constitution’
Rachel Schilke
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Georgetown Law professor Randy Barnett is demanding “an apology” from former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) after the former congressman said Barnett had “sold out the Constitution” during a heated exchange over the Federalist Society.
The mudslinging on Twitter occurred on Saturday evening over a Politico article on the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian law group that works to advance careers for right-leaning lawyers and has become “the GOP’s go-to clearinghouse for major judicial appointments,” per the piece.
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“You have totally sold out the constitution and don’t bat an eye at that. Everything you claim to be for, you sell out for an insane clown man. Can you look into the mirror? Actually probably so,” Kinzinger wrote after Barnett claimed the “resignation” of a Federalist Society critic.
In response, Barnett said Kinzinger’s “serious charge” warranted “an apology.”
“This is a serious charge that you are obliged either to explain or to delete with an apology. How exactly have I ‘totally sold out the Constitution’?” the professor wrote.
https://twitter.com/RandyEBarnett/status/1637527692487585792
The argument began after Heath Mayo, a conservative and member of the Principles First grassroots organization that runs similar meetings to the Conservative Political Action Conference, wrote in a tweet that the Federalist Society had “strayed so far” from its original purpose.
“@FedSoc has died. As a proud member in law school, I’m disgusted. It isn’t an intellectual movement anymore. It’s just rationalizing priors in bowties. Zero principles,” Mayo wrote. “FedSoc should be ashamed it’s strayed so far. This isn’t law — it’s embarrassing.”
Barnett, a Federalist Society contributor, tweeted, “Resignation accepted. Please return the bow tie,” in response to Mayo, prompting Kinzinger to share his thoughts.
https://twitter.com/RandyEBarnett/status/1637278302413938688
Kinzinger’s “insane clown man” reference is likely pointing to former President Donald Trump. In 2019, Barnett said in an interview with NPR that Trump’s reshaping of the federal courts with his appointees was a “restoration of balance to the federal judiciary.”
“Federalism is not just for conservatives and neither is the original meaning of the Constitution,” Barnett said.
The Federalist Society recently made national headlines after Stanford Law School students heckled and protested Trump-appointed 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Kyle Duncan as he was supposed to deliver a lecture on the judiciary’s approach to COVID-19 restrictions and gun laws during the group’s event.
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The situation prompted several conservative students to call for the dismissal of Tirien Steinbach, the school’s dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion, who participated in the protest.
Law student Luke Schumacher condemned the protest as “hostile for anyone who thinks an Article III judge should be able to speak without heckling.”