1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:08,600 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,720 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:17,880 Speaker 1: show that pulls down the pants of history because it 4 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:22,680 Speaker 1: knows what it did. I'm Gabeluesier, and today we're looking 5 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: at the story of the first and so far only 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:38,239 Speaker 1: Supreme Court justice to resign under threat of impeachment. The 7 00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:44,120 Speaker 1: day was May fifteenth, nineteen sixty nine. Justice Abe Fortas 8 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,560 Speaker 1: stepped down from the Supreme Court due to his involvement 9 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: in a financial scandal. Fortis insisted he had done nothing 10 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,960 Speaker 1: wrong and that he was only resigning to help preserve 11 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: public trust in the Court. That said, another motivating factor 12 00:00:59,640 --> 00:01:02,680 Speaker 1: may have its been that Fortis, a liberal judge, was 13 00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: at risk of being impeached by the Democrat controlled House, 14 00:01:06,600 --> 00:01:09,560 Speaker 1: with even his own party turning against him, Taking the 15 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:12,959 Speaker 1: high road of resignation probably felt like the best option 16 00:01:13,200 --> 00:01:18,039 Speaker 1: he had left. Abraham Fortas was born on June nineteenth, 17 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: nineteen ten, in Memphis, Tennessee. He graduated from Southwestern College 18 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:27,360 Speaker 1: now Rhodes College in nineteen thirty and then studied law 19 00:01:27,400 --> 00:01:30,920 Speaker 1: at Yale for the next four years. He graduated second 20 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:33,960 Speaker 1: in his class in nineteen thirty three and was promptly 21 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,840 Speaker 1: hired to stay on at Yale as an assistant professor 22 00:01:36,880 --> 00:01:40,200 Speaker 1: of law. Soon after, Fords took on a series of 23 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,039 Speaker 1: government roles in Washington, d c. Including with the Agricultural 24 00:01:44,080 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: Adjustment Administration and the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission. 25 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: During that time, he also struck up a friendship with 26 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: a young congressman from Texas named Lyndon B. Johnson. The 27 00:01:56,120 --> 00:01:59,640 Speaker 1: two would keep in touch throughout the nineteen forties and fifties, 28 00:01:59,760 --> 00:02:03,120 Speaker 1: and when Johnson became president in the mid nineteen sixties, 29 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: he brought his old friend Fortis along for the ride. 30 00:02:06,400 --> 00:02:09,359 Speaker 1: By that point, Abe Fortas had made quite a name 31 00:02:09,400 --> 00:02:12,359 Speaker 1: for himself in Washington, where he had co founded one 32 00:02:12,360 --> 00:02:15,200 Speaker 1: of the most prestigious corporate law firms in the country, 33 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,799 Speaker 1: Arnold Fortis and Porter. The firm made most of its 34 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: money by repping large corporations, but Fortis had also distinguished 35 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,960 Speaker 1: himself in several key First Amendment cases where he successfully 36 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,200 Speaker 1: argued in favor of the rights of the individual. It 37 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,799 Speaker 1: was on the strength of that work, and on their 38 00:02:33,880 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: long running friendship, that President Johnson appointed Fortis to be 39 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,079 Speaker 1: an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Arthur Goldberg 40 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: had resigned his seat earlier that year to serve as 41 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:48,920 Speaker 1: an ambassador to the United Nations. The Senate confirmed Fortis 42 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: as his replacement in August of nineteen sixty five, and 43 00:02:52,760 --> 00:02:56,519 Speaker 1: just three years after that, another vacancy opened on the court. 44 00:02:57,000 --> 00:03:01,080 Speaker 1: Chief Justice Earl Warren decided to retire and nonineteen sixty eight, 45 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:05,160 Speaker 1: and President Johnson wanted Fords to succeed him. In order 46 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:08,360 Speaker 1: for the nomination to go through, however, the Senate would 47 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:12,600 Speaker 1: have to approve Fordace's elevation to Chief Justice, and winning 48 00:03:12,639 --> 00:03:17,080 Speaker 1: that approval proved trickier than expected. The close friendship between 49 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: Justice Fortis and LBJ was well known by nineteen sixty eight, 50 00:03:21,600 --> 00:03:25,079 Speaker 1: but his second confirmation hearings gave the public its first 51 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: glimpse at the true scope of that relationship. According to 52 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,480 Speaker 1: the Senate, the proceedings revealed that as a sitting Justice, 53 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,840 Speaker 1: Fortis regularly attended White House staff meetings. He briefed the 54 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:42,240 Speaker 1: President on secret court deliberations, and on behalf of the President, 55 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: he pressured senators who opposed the war in Vietnam. Many 56 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:51,000 Speaker 1: senators had misgivings about Fortis's involvement in White House affairs, 57 00:03:51,320 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: but the confirmation hearings actually dredged up something even more damning. 58 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: It was revealed that one of Fordyce's former law partners, 59 00:03:59,720 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: Paul Porter, had been paying him to teach summer school 60 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: classes at American University. Moonlighting as a law professor wouldn't 61 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: have been a huge issue on its own, except that 62 00:04:10,360 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: Fordis wasn't on American University's payroll. Instead, his summer school 63 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:18,800 Speaker 1: salary was paid by former clients of his old partner's 64 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,760 Speaker 1: law firm, and if that wasn't suspicious enough, many of 65 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: those clients had cases potentially bound for the Supreme Court, 66 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:31,320 Speaker 1: where Fortis would theoretically pass judgment on them. The payments 67 00:04:31,320 --> 00:04:34,920 Speaker 1: in question was fifteen thousand dollars or more than one 68 00:04:34,960 --> 00:04:38,120 Speaker 1: hundred and thirty thousand dollars in today's money, and it 69 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:42,119 Speaker 1: represented roughly forty percent of the annual salary Fortis earned 70 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: as a Supreme Court justice. Many conservative senators raised concerns 71 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: over his financial dealings, and when they effectively blocked his 72 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:54,440 Speaker 1: confirmation with a filibuster, Fortis asked the President to withdraw 73 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:58,159 Speaker 1: his name, making him the first nominee for Chief Justice 74 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,000 Speaker 1: since seventeen ninety five to fail to win Senate approval. 75 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,279 Speaker 1: Unfortunately for Fordis, things were about to go from bad 76 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: to worse. In nineteen sixty nine, Life magazine broke the 77 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: news on another suspicious business deal involving the Justice. It 78 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:18,039 Speaker 1: turned out that three years earlier he had taken a 79 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: secret retainer from the family foundation of Lewis Wolfson, a 80 00:05:22,080 --> 00:05:26,080 Speaker 1: Wall Street financier and a former client of Fordis. While 81 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:29,760 Speaker 1: sitting on the court, the Justice accepted twenty thousand dollars 82 00:05:29,800 --> 00:05:34,400 Speaker 1: in exchange for his consultation on unspecified legal matters. Per 83 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: the terms of their agreement, Fordas would then receive an 84 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:41,039 Speaker 1: additional twenty thousand dollars every year for the rest of 85 00:05:41,080 --> 00:05:45,080 Speaker 1: his life. In the end, Fordas accepted just the one payment, 86 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: and even that one he didn't keep for very long. 87 00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:50,919 Speaker 1: In fact, he returned the money and quit the foundation 88 00:05:51,240 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: before the year was even out. That proved to be 89 00:05:54,080 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: a wise decision, too, as not long after Lewis Wolfson 90 00:05:57,960 --> 00:06:02,720 Speaker 1: was convicted and imprisoned for seeing securities fraud. Life Magazine's 91 00:06:02,760 --> 00:06:06,200 Speaker 1: disclosure of the Wolfson retainer marked the beginning of the 92 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 1: end of Fortis's brief judicial career. Republicans in Congress demanded 93 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:14,440 Speaker 1: that he resign, and pretty soon Democrats called for his 94 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:18,039 Speaker 1: ouster as well. To be clear, what Fordis had done 95 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: was not technically illegal, but it sure didn't seem like 96 00:06:21,600 --> 00:06:26,120 Speaker 1: becoming conduct for Supreme Court justice. The appearance of financial 97 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:30,719 Speaker 1: impropriety was so alarming the Chief Justice Warren and Fortis's friend, 98 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:34,440 Speaker 1: Justice HUGO. Black both urged him to resign, not only 99 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:36,800 Speaker 1: for the sake of his own reputation, but for that 100 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:40,440 Speaker 1: of his wife, Caroline Ager, who was also a prominent lawyer. 101 00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 1: In the end, Fortis begrudgingly took their Advice President Richard 102 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: Nixon happily accepted his resignation on the morning of May fifteenth, 103 00:06:50,440 --> 00:06:54,360 Speaker 1: nineteen sixty nine. It later came to light that Nixon's 104 00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: administration had conspired to force Fortis off the Court, even 105 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: going so far as to leak incriminating info to Life magazine. 106 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 1: That shady effort ultimately paid off, allowing Nixon to fill 107 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: Fordace's seat with his own Conservative appointment, Justice Harry Blackman. 108 00:07:12,040 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: As for Abe Fortas, he started a new law firm 109 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:19,280 Speaker 1: and returned to private practice, his reputation and his career 110 00:07:19,400 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 1: were never quite the same. But if his resignation letter 111 00:07:22,520 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 1: is to be believed, then Fortis never doubted his decision. 112 00:07:26,080 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: As he put it himself, quote, the welfare and the 113 00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,480 Speaker 1: maximum effectiveness of the Court to perform its critical role 114 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:36,840 Speaker 1: in our system of government are factors that are paramount 115 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:41,120 Speaker 1: to all others. Whatever you think of justice, Abe Fortis, 116 00:07:41,280 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: there's no denying that when push came to shove, he 117 00:07:44,200 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 1: did the right thing for the country. He didn't make 118 00:07:46,960 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 1: excuses or threaten payback or play the victim. He heard 119 00:07:50,840 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 1: the many calls for his resignation, both from Congress and 120 00:07:54,120 --> 00:07:56,840 Speaker 1: from the public, and though he didn't think he deserved them, 121 00:07:57,040 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: he heeded them all the same. To do otherwise would 122 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,960 Speaker 1: have only brought further embarrassment on himself and on the court. 123 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: Abe Fortis was a decent enough public servant that he 124 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,120 Speaker 1: wasn't willing to do that. So, although his time on 125 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:14,320 Speaker 1: the bench provided many examples of what not to do, 126 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:17,880 Speaker 1: his departure from the court is a sterling example of 127 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,480 Speaker 1: how a justice should respond when their impartiality as a 128 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:24,720 Speaker 1: jurist is in doubt. You likely don't need me to 129 00:08:24,800 --> 00:08:28,800 Speaker 1: spell out all the similarities between this story and current events, 130 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,280 Speaker 1: and I think it's far more striking anyway to note 131 00:08:32,280 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: the differences. I'm Gabe Luzier and hopefully you now know 132 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,160 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 133 00:08:41,800 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: If you have a second and you're so inclined, consider 134 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:47,920 Speaker 1: checking us out on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can 135 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:51,600 Speaker 1: find us at TDI HC Show, and if you have 136 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,280 Speaker 1: any feedback you'd like to share, feel free to pass 137 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:58,760 Speaker 1: it along by writing to this day at iHeartMedia dot com. 138 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:01,839 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler May's and Ben Hackett for producing the show, 139 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:04,439 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 140 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,920 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class.