Topline
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received free tickets to a Beyoncé concert last year, according to personal finance documents made public Friday, as justices come under increasing pressure to disclose gifts and potential conflicts of interest.
A Supreme Court spokesperson confirmed the gift to The Washington Post and said: “Justice Jackson is ... [+]
Key Facts
In her personal financial disclosure, Jackson disclosed a $3,712 gift of four concert tickets from Beyoncé herself.
The disclosure didn’t contain information on what show Jackson was at or what led to the tickets being gifted.
A Supreme Court spokesperson confirmed the gift to The Washington Post and said: “Justice Jackson is Crazy in Love with Beyonce’s music. Who isn’t?”
Jackson—who had the most outside income of any justice last year—also disclosed that she received almost $900,000 from Penguin Random House for a book advance, reportedly for her memoir that is worth $3 million.
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Tangent
Beyoncé also gifted Vice President Kamala Harris tickets to her Renaissance World Tour last August when it went through the D.C. area. The vice president posted a picture on social media of her and her husband captioned: “Thanks for a fun date night, @Beyonce!” Harris’ financial disclosure forms released in May revealed the tickets were worth about $1,655.
News Peg
The Supreme Court justices—save for Justice Samuel Alito—released their financial disclosure documents on Friday amid increased attention on the court and recent allegations of ethical violations and conflicts of interest. Justice Brett Kavanaugh reported receiving $340,000 from Regnery Publishing for his book deal and Justice Neil Gorsuch reported receiving $250,000 from HarperCollins. Justice Clarence Thomas amended his past disclosures to include two trips paid for by real estate magnate Harlan Crow after he was criticized for not reporting them in the past.
Forbes Valuation
Forbes estimated Jackson to have a net worth of about $2 million in February, meaning she tied Kavanaugh for having the lowest net worth on the bench.
Chief Critic
Eric Columbus, who has worked in special litigation counsel for the House, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that although he doesn’t think Beyoncé was trying to influence the justice or that Jackson could be influenced by free tickets, she “shouldn’t accept gifts like this and the rules shouldn’t allow it” unless they had a preexisting friendship.
