Anthony Kennedy's son was Trump's moneylender at Deutsche Bank

Here's another line you can draw on your conspiracy board: Retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy has a connection to Germany's Deutsche Bank, which has been suspected of allowing Russian money laundering and is President Trump's biggest known lender, The New York Times reports. While the Trump administration has waged a long campaign to encourage Kennedy to retire — a not uncommon practice among presidents, as all are eager to fill Supreme Court vacancies — the Trumps and the Kennedys already had a long history of working together:

President Trump's glowing reference to Justice Kennedy's son at his address to Congress was apparently an attempt to remind the judge of their connection. As the Times suggests, Trump's months of praise of the senior Kennedy was all part of a campaign to assure him "that his judicial legacy would be in good hands should he step down at the end of the court's term that ended this week."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up