During Justice Anthony Kennedy’s 31 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, liberals and progressives had a love/hate relationship with the Reagan appointee — praising him for his rulings on gay rights and abortion rights while slamming his economic rulings as beneficial to unchecked corporate power. And those who viewed Kennedy as being too quick to side with big business are likely to have similar views on his son, Justin Kennedy, who according to the New York Times, has been very close to Trumpworld and helped Donald Trump secure almost $700 million in loans for a real estate project in Chicago.
In an article published this week, Times journalists David Enrich, Russ Buettner, Mike McIntire and Susanne Craig report that the financial crash of September 2008 “was in full swing” when Trump visited Chicago “to mark the near-completion of his 92-floor skyscraper.” But the project did not go smoothly.
“How Mr. Trump found trouble in Chicago and maneuvered his way out of it is a case study in doing business the Trump way,” the Times reporters explain. “When the project encountered problems, he tried to walk away from his huge debts. For most individuals or businesses, that would have been a recipe for ruin. But tax-return data, other records and interviews show that rather than warring with a notoriously litigious and headline-seeking client, lenders cut Mr. Trump slack — exactly what he seemed to have been counting on.” Continue reading.