— Elise Stefanik Post Office Box 500 Glens Falls, New York 12801 (5187 S56B 2S. December 15, 2023 Cw Judicial Council of the District of Columbia Circuit clo Office of uit Executive United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse 333 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20001 Re: Complaint of Judicial Misconduct Against Judge Beryl Howell ——_—— —<—<_—>>=~" Dear Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan: I write today to express my serious concerns about, and request an ethics investigation of, DC U.S. District Judge Beryl Howelf?®FRer highly inappropriate political speech she gave lastaagath, at which SE S0GeSted reelecting President Trump will lead to fascism in America. As outlined in detail below, Judge Howell's eect obviously, highly igapproprate electionJnterference by adaderal judas that acai The public's Eid Serna arora te tlesleplay of Resta ereoned retallonsins belwocn Judge Howelrand her partisan friends wgg appear before her undermines public trust in cudiaLindgpendence, in violation of Canon => Judge Howell, after becoming the chief judge of the D.C. Dis rt in ZO1e before stepping down on March 17, 20: jervised the D.C. grandify and other Tegal proceedings against Pre . his top aides, and his supporters on January 6th. This included Judge Howell's supervision of the discredited Mueller probe tha] Substantially interfered with the Trump presidency, along with then-Chief Judge Howell's supervision of Biden ‘Special SSONGSERSENEE investigations that resulted in two Unprecedented and highly controversial indictments of a foomeaBagsident of the United States and the leading presidential candidate for 2024 vember 27, 2023, Judl nd current Biden Deputy Attorney General the Biden Justice Department official who ultimately supervises federal ‘across America including their January 6 cases, together received the Chansons at the Women’s White COnarOMESES dssacsaion awards gala in Washington, . Former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch, the master of ceremonies, and former Obama White House Course Rectang ood both Judge Howell and Monaco, Aj kkneither lend the prestige of the uidicialaifics to advance th nee Saat reel cea ar LE ‘Position to fluence the judge.” Guide to Judiciary Policy, Vol. 2A, Ch. 2, Canon 2B, available at hittoss fsites/default/files/code of conduct for united states judges effective m arch 12 2019.p¢f (last visited Dec. 14, 2024).Lynch lauded Ruegymler’ imfortant policy issues of is former Mueller probe (of President Lrump) chief depi as federal prosecutors in the Eastem District of New Judge Howell, a former Democrat chief counsel to then-* Chairman Pattick LeatytD-Vermont), became President Oba on the highly influential D.C. District Court “But | can tell you from my experience that it was extremely rare for any member of the Senate to call the President directly on any judicial nom| But Senator Leahy Maree Pres called Presiden Qbama about Beryl Howell. strongly he felt that she was the pare be Ruemmler then discussed how she appeared before then-Chief Judge Howell when she presided over “many qui ive grat = RucmmSPeaer eis “such a huge admi m very fortunate to call her friend.”® —_—_———— Emphasizing they have been “very close friends ne” (more than 20 years), Rugmmler also helped introduce Monggo 4S quite a powel 8 who “holds a ‘very powerful position” as “the Deputy Attomey Genefal of fi ss" who SISURSSETINSU 8. Attorney RUSMMETCAMEDTAT aco her “best friend’and shared jal {ggathay, serving together on the als and in the gisertTen | Serving together as ty Cssertfing an annual tad 3 praised and presented both Judge. Lynch specifically mentioned ‘the p then-Chief Judge Howell "handled masterfully”: SS The COVID-19 pandemic that closed the world, the January 6" insurrection and the resulting gaseload, and the flurry of activity spurred by (hSCMRECPSSECR ‘Counsel, Allancing PTET gat aha pare te (Lynch wale for applause.| Colaaguas and counsel alike all speak almost reverently of haw she steered the court\gouse ? 2023 WWCDA Awards Gala ["Gala’], at 12731-129:55, available at y h2v=sNDnJWh iazE (last visited Dec. 14, 2023). Id, at 132:46-133:30. 4 Id, at 134:09-134:56. 5 Id, at 134:56-135:40. ® Id. at 136:40-135:46. Ruemmiler said Monaco becomes a “complete and total softy” around Ruemmier's dog “Girdy'—and ‘Monaco texts “Where's my Girdy?" “at least once a week.” Ruemmiler publicly shared texts with her mother about Monaco’s recent visit with Ruemmiler (and Girdy) in New York City. Id, at 135:48- 138:49through that trifecta of issues with grace, with discipline, and her trademark, bone- deep commitment to bring justice fo every matter before her.® It's particularly shocking to hear the former Attorney General of the United States praise a silting, Judge for her handling o 7 ‘ceedings on pendit SGuece aerial fate surat aeetonca (rescence) fe eae is ety Su pectietes ri aye les WB Eo enon Wk occurred on Januafy 6-despite the fact even the over-the-top Biden Sp ‘Smith never brought such charges against any J: shocking Judge Howell participated in this highly p, charade, not even disclaiming any of it. Canon 2B is clear: “A judge should nefther len Je of the judicial office to advance the private interests of the judge or others nor convey or permit others to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.” It's hard to imagine how these criminal defendants can expect a fair trial, when one of the “ceatins tends tataie tral ‘champion award’ from partisan opponents while cases are pending before her cou "wich, Ruemmier, Monaco (the senior DOJ official prosecuting January 6 cases), and Judge Howell (over nual ’s) even huddled and ameter TOURER OME: on Suge, alate and with aialaapusic playing, as Judge Howell received her “champion awai 3d this after Monace receiv Judge Howell began her prepared marks by calling former Obama Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Acting Attorney General Sally Yates the “pai of other champion awardees” and “ .” She told the current Biden Deputy Attorney General it was an “honor to share the stage tonight with Lisa Monaco”, “having watched your career over the oe TVEBEEMINEE-TTNDI-POCTEMEMS Tete! of calm and grace when carrying enormous responsibility for the safety of so many—not just in your current job but in your prior national-security role. Thank you for all of your service to the country and for being an unshakable force for justice.” Judge Howell called Lynch and Weissman. (among others) her “dear ends. And Judge Howell's 16 minutes of substantive remarks had little to do with women representing white-collar criminal defendants—and they were hardly apolitical, let alone politically neutral."° According to Politico, “[a]s the federal court in Washington that Judge Beryl Howell once oversaw prepares for a historic trial of former President Donald Trump on 8 id,, at 142-40-143:45, 8 id,, at 145:10-146:56, 10 fd. at 147:10-153:15,charges of attempting to fraudulently overturn the results of the 2020 election,” Judge Howell “used a rare public speech Tuesday to lament that many of those convicted for their actions on Jan. 6 fell under the sway of falsehoods.""" ‘And the purpose of Judge Howell's speech was not lost on anyone, including Politico: “The judge who spearheaded the judiciary's response to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, blamed that event on ‘big lies’ and wamed that the country is in danger of, turning toward authoritarianism.” Politico continued its reporting of Judge Howell's “rare public speech “My D.C. judicial colleagues and | regularly see the impact of big lies at the sentencing of hundreds, hundreds of individuals who have been convicted for offense conduct on Jan. 6, 2021, when they disrupted the certification of the 2020 presidential election at the U.S. Capitol,’ said Howell, an appointee of President Barack Obama. Howell, who served as chief judge of the District Court from 2016 until March and remains on the bench there, also suggested that the dangers evident on the day of the Capitol riot have not passed — in part because some Americans have become unmoored from facts. ‘We are having a very surprising and downright troubling moment in this country when the very importance of facts is dismissed, or ignored,’ Howell told the annual gala of the Women’s White Collar Defense Association at a downtown hotel. ‘That's very risky business for all of us in our democracy. ... The facts matter.’ Howell did not refer by name to Trump, who is currently the overwhelming favorite to win the Republican presidential nomination next year. She also made no mention of his trial set to open March 4 before one of her colleagues, Judge Tanya Chutkan However, Howell approvingly quoted Boston College historian Heather Cox Richardson's claim in her new book that the U.S. is at a crossroads teetering on the brink of authoritarianism.’ The judge also quoted and echoed Richardson's warning that ‘Big lies are springboards for authoritarians.’"® Judge Howell's fuller quote is this: This historian Heather Cox Richardson, whose book I've been reading . .. cautions in her book's opening line . .. “America is at a crossroads teetering on the brink of authoritarianism’ and she echoes this thought in her closing line, that we are at a time of testing and how it comes out ... is in our own hands. 1 Gerstein, Josh. “Judge key to Jan. 6 cases warns US faces ‘authoritarian’ threat.” Politico. Nov. 8, 2023, available at httos:/mww.politico.com/news/2023/11/28/ian-6-authoritarian-threat-democraoy- 00129013 (last visited Dec. 14, 2023). Zid. 1d,Judge Howell remarked that much of the audience may have already read the ‘best- selling” book, which Judge Howell promoted by name, and that the book has “historical facts” to “set the record straight." Ifone reads the book, they would know itis an anti-Trump, anti-Republican Party screed, Throughout the book, Richardson attacks Republicans for “flooding the media system with propaganda,” attacks President Trump's judicial nominees as “extremist,” accuses President Trump of trying to “rig” the election, and says that President Trump pushed “an authoritarian agenda." Judge Howell's speech is plainly inappropriate, consisting of partisan statements, election interference, and improper extrajudicial statements while criminal cases are pending-all barred by Canon 2B. Judge Howell promoted the Democrat political campaign theme that the re-election of Donald Trump equates to America choosing authoritarianism, This is conduct unbecoming of a federal judge. These comments, sadly, are not surprising given Judge Howell's background. Howell is a former top appointee to a former partisan Democrat Senate Judiciary chairman. While on the bench, Judge Howell promoted a conspiracy theory Twitter wanted to “cozy up" to President Donald Trump,"® approved Jack Smith's stunningly broad search warrant hunting down American citizens who interacted with President Trump’s tweets,” and pretended President Trump might “flee from prosecution” (despite 24/7/365 Secret Service detail) in ordering Twitter not to routinely alert Trump." Partisans cannot use our judicial system to exact political revenge against those with whom they disagree. The consequences for our legal system, Constitution, and country would be devastating. | urge you to investigate Judge Howell's partisan speech-obviously highly inappropriate election interference by a federal judge that undermines the public’s trust in our courts—for violating Canon 2B. Sincerely, ELA, Grad, Elise Stefanik * Gala, at 148:28-149:40, "® Richardson, Heather Cox. Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America. © 2023: WH Allen, an imprint of Ebury Publishing, 2023. © Vanian, Jonathan. "Federal Judge Asks If Elon Musk Was Trying to ‘Cozy up’ to Trump during Criminal Probe,” CNBC, Aug. 16, 2023, available at https://www.cnbe.com/2023/08)/16/judae-in- ‘trump-case-asks-if-elon-muskctried-to-cozy-up-to-ex-president.himl (last visited Dec. 14, 2023) * Deese, Kaelen. “Did Jack Smith’s Search Warrant Sweep Twitter Data from Millions of People?” ‘The Washington Examiner, Nov. 30, 2023, available at https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/did-jack-smiths-search-warrant-sweep-twitter- data-from-milions-americans (last visited Dec. 14, 2023). Klasfeld, Adam & Darren Samuelsohn. “Federal Judge Found ‘Reason to Believe’ Trump Would ‘Flee from Prosecution,” The Messenger, Aug. 9, 2023, available at https:/themessencer.com/politics/trump-fiaht-isk-federal-iudae-ruling-indictments (last visited Dec. 14, 2023)