Letter to the editor: Who invited Trump hater DeNiro?

OPINION:

As a member of the Supreme Court Bar, I had the privilege last week to sit in the front section, reserved for bar members, during the oral argument last week challenging President Trump’s executive order on birthright citizenship (“WATCH: Supreme Court justices skeptical of Trump’s birthright citizenship order,” Web, April 1).

Mr. Trump sat a few rows behind me in the first row of the public section. Although his presence was a first for a sitting president, it was understandable given that he was a party to the case.

More surprising was seeing actor Robert De Niro, a strident Trump critic, sitting a few feet away, to the right, in a prime seating reserved for the justices’ family and guests. 

So which liberal justice thought it was appropriate to invite such a visible Trump critic as his or her special guest to this high-profile case? If Messrs. Thomas or Alito had invited a prominent Trump supporter, such as Sean Hannity, to sit there, there would have been immediate calls for that justice’s recusal for appearances of bias.

PAUL KAMENAR

Counsel, National Legal and Policy Center

Chevy Chase, Maryland