Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer penned an op-ed for the New York Times Wednesday in which he celebrated the friendship between his fellow judges — who, he said, managed to cut through their political differences.
It wasn't received well.
Breyer, a Clinton nominee who retired his post in 2022, claimed he doesn't understand why there's so much hostility in the world when he was able to come together with his Republican colleagues on the bench.
"Considerable disagreement on professional matters among the Supreme Court justices, important as they are, remain professional, not personal," he wrote.
"The members of the court can and do get along well personally. That matters."
He then gave examples of how he'd cozy up with his colleagues who held vastly different opinions to him.
"Chief Justice Rehnquist, Justice Anthony Kennedy, Justice O’Connor and I would play bridge with friends and spouses (often changing partners)," he reminisced.
Then he added, "If justices who disagree so profoundly can do so respectfully, perhaps it is possible for our politically divided country to do the same."
ALSO READ: A criminologist explains why Judge Cannon must step away from Trump trial immediately
But judicial writer Jay Willis of "Balls and Strikes" slammed his claim, noting that Breyer has been spinning the tale for a long time.
"I promise you that as bad as Stephen Breyer's latest 'all us Supreme Court justices are best of friends' essay is, his book, which features stories about William Rehnquist leading sing-alongs at the Court, is even worse," he wrote on the social media site X.
The Nation's court columnist Elie Mystal refused to even click on the column from Breyer.
"I'm not going to read the Stephen Breyer piece because my kids have outgrown the Peppa f---ing Pig phase, and I have no intention of letting the New York Times take me back there," he said.
Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis ridiculed the headline, "The Supreme Court I Served On Was Made Up of Friends." He asked, "Are those friends in the room with us right now?"
"That’s nice. Friends are nice. But when friends are busy destroying the institution, there comes a time to speak up," quipped Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island.
Political consultant Jamison Foser pointed out some of Breyer's worst moves as a justice.
"The Supreme Court Stephen Breyer served on gave GW Bush the White House, gutted the Voting Rights Act, overturned Roe v. Wade, and invited corporations to flood our elections with cash," Foser said.
"It was a tool wielded by America's political minority to impose their will on the rest of us. Making it harder for Black people to vote and women to make decisions about their own bodies while genially chatting over some herbal tea in the Supreme Court dining room."
"I am extremely angry about how g-ddamned stupid this is," he continued. "Could Stephen Breyer *be* more frivolous? He could try, but he would not be successful."
