Washington, D.C.

A powerful foreign corporation—Bertelsmann, the German conglomerate behind Penguin Random House—is funneling millions to sitting U.S. Supreme Court justices through lucrative book deals. This firestorm of foreign influence threatens judicial impartiality, challenges American sovereignty, and undermines citizens’ faith in constitutional justice.

Penguin’s Rich Advances to Justices

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received an $893,750 advance for her memoir Lovely One and reportedly netted around $2 million—an extraordinary sum for a ghost-written volume barely noticed by the public. Justice Amy Coney Barrett secured a staggering $2 million advance from Penguin Random House. Justice Sonia Sotomayor received over $3 million from the same publisher, yet critics allege she failed to recuse herself from related cases.

Conflicts of Interest & Judicial Recusals

These massive payouts pose more than optics concerns—they create concrete conflicts. The Court has had to step aside in rulings involving authors published by the same corporation. Sotomayor, in particular, has faced scrutiny for ruling on matters tied to her publisher’s interests. As a result, justices with these ties have recused themselves, disrupting full court deliberations.

A Foreign, Ex-Nazi Giant

While known as Penguin, Random House, Doubleday, Knopf, and others, the publisher is part of Bertelsmann—a German conglomerate with ties to the Nazi era. It wields vast influence in American publishing, rolling out left-leaning cultural hit-pieces like How to Be an Antiracist and White Fragility. Bertelsmann has even deployed legal funds to challenge parents over content in children’s books. This is foreign influence writ large—funds from Germany supporting justices who sit in judgment over American law.

Double Standard in Media Scrutiny

Mainstream media treated Justice Thomas differently, conducting invasive investigations into donations to his elderly mother. Meanwhile, these lucrative book deals—“millions from a multinational giant with business before the court"—have triggered little attention. The discrepancy in coverage underlines a disturbing bias.

Monopoly & Cultural Control

Bertelsmann is also attempting to swallow Simon & Schuster, deepening its hold on U.S. publishing. A foreign corporation that dominates the airwaves, steers cultural dialogue, and enriches U.S. jurists who judge America—is antithetical to American resilience and independent institutions.

Biblical & American Principles at Stake

• Sovereignty: Judicial power must come from the people—not foreign capital.
• Transparency: Voters deserve clarity into just how and why justices receive these funds.
• Justice: Judges must remain impartial; recusal should follow actual conflicts—not public uproar.

The Constitutional Cost of Foreign Influence

America needs a Supreme Court free of foreign patronage. Book advances upwards of $2–3 million from a German media conglomerate compromise both appearance and truth. We must demand transparency, enforce recusals, and safeguard the sanctity of judicial review. For if our defenders on the bench are influenced by foreign money, the shield of our Constitution weakens.

References

• A Radical Company is Paying Supreme Court Justices Millions – Gatestone Institute