Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was appointed by Donald Trump last year, has signed a book deal securing a $2m (£1.4m) advance, according to a report.
Ms Barrett, whose rushed appointment following the death of liberal champion Ruth Bader Ginsberg gave conservatives a convincing 6-3 majority in America’s top court, raised concerns among progressives due to her views on abortion and healthcare.
Now, Ms Barrett has signed a deal to write a book about how judges should not bring their personal feelings into their decision making. The contract includes an “eye-raising” $2m forward payment, according to Politico, whichquoted three sources with knowledge of the deal.
The deal is likely the highest for a supreme court justice and the biggest amount since book deals won by Clarence Thomas and Sandra Day O’Connor, the report said.
Ms Barrett, 49, a mother of seven, established a reputation as a fiercely conservative judge before she was elected to the Supreme Court and was confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate just three weeks before the 2020 election, prompting severe backlash.
However, Ms Barrett is not the only high-profile conservative to win a book deal. According to the same report, another veteran of the Trump administration, William Barr, who served as attorney general, has also recently sold a book about his time at the Justice Department.
One Republican legal professional who clashed publicly with Mr Barr and Mr Trump, former New York prosecutor Geoffrey Berman, is reported to have sold a book for “a lot of money”.
A source told Politico Mr Berman’s book would be “part Paul Giamatti and Billions” – a reference to a hit TV series about corporate crime in New York – “and then sort of the Trump show in the southern district [of New York]”.
Jared Kushner, Mr Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is reportedly working on a book, while former vice-president Mike Pence has also signed a deal for two volumes.
But Politico also says a number of former aides of Mr Trump are struggling to find buyers, with those who did not have ties with his election conspiracy theories said to be getting big deals more easily.
