The Texas-based federal judge who ruled to revoke the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the abortion drug mifepristone is redacting personal wealth disclosures in an unusual move, reported CNN on Friday.
"In his 2020 and 2021 annual disclosures, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk wrote that he held between $5 million and $25 million in 'common stock' of a company – a significant majority of the judge’s personal wealth," reported Casey Tolan and Isabelle Chapman. "The name of the company he held stock in is redacted, despite the fact that federal law only allows redactions of information that could 'endanger' a judge or their family member."
"CNN obtained a previous financial disclosure for Kacsmaryk – which is not available online – from 2017, when he was a judicial nominee," the report continued. "On that unredacted form, Kacsmaryk reported owning about $2.9 million in stock in the Florida-based supermarket company Publix. It’s not clear whether that’s the same holding as the redacted stock, although Publix’s share price had significantly increased by 2020 and 2021 and the company is no longer listed on his more recent disclosures. Redactions are approved by a judicial committee. The redacted holding accounted for at least 85% of Kacsmaryk’s total reported wealth in 2021, and potentially more."
This is not the first time Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee who presides over a district court in Amarillo and is specifically chosen by right-wing litigants for favorable rulings, has attempted to skirt transparency. While the abortion pill case was being heard, he tried to conceal the hearing date from the public, citing the safety of court officers, only reversing after backlash from reporters.
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Subsequent reporting has shown he also concealed information about his far-right legal writings and talk radio interviews while being confirmed in the Senate.
On Friday evening, the Supreme Court fully stayed Kacsmaryk's ruling against mifepristone authorization, pending a broader hearing by higher courts.
