NEW: Constitutional Crisis Continues to Unravel Under Kelly Ayotte 

NEW: Constitutional Crisis Continues to Unravel Under Kelly Ayotte 
 

New reporting from NHPR details the constitutional crisis that has unraveled under Kelly Ayotte, after Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald resigned in disgrace for orchestrating a payout to a top ally in the courts. A defense attorney asked the court to “postpone proceedings,” citing concerns about the justices’ relationship to an ongoing investigation.

The delay comes amid “a months-long inquiry into the highest levels of the state judicial system,” which has eroded public trust in the courts and promoted “uncertainty” over the justices’ “possible ties to an ethics probe.” Despite court proceedings coming to a screeching halt over this ethics scandal, Kelly Ayotte has “declined to rule out the possibility of nominating” a replacement before the November elections. Ayotte was one of MacDonald’s most outspoken supporters for his Chief Justice nomination – saying he would “never let personal views influence him” and that he “possesses great intellect and integrity.” 

Her refusal to put the Chief Justice nomination on hold with just weeks to go before the election marks a sharp departure from her steadfast opposition to moving forward with a new Supreme Court nomination before the 2016 presidential election. At the time, Ayotte said that the “American people deserved to have a voice in the direction of the court.”

“This is a crisis of confidence that has unfolded under Kelly Ayotte,” said NHDP spokesperson Marissa Hebert. “Ayotte was a champion for Gordon MacDonald’s integrity, and look how well that worked out for her. Every new revelation further erodes Granite Staters’ trust in the courts, and Ayotte’s answer is to keep the door open to appoint another political ally? What a disgrace.”