Wow, didn’t know that…
Those who think Donald Trump is not a serious presidential candidate received new ammunition yesterday with the release of a list of individuals Trump considers possible nominees to the U.S. Supreme Court. Included on the list is an Alabama judge who posed nude during his college days for a series of photographs that wound up at the badpuppy.comgay-pornography Web site in the late ’90s.
William H. “Bill” Pryor’s foray into gay porn probably is more substantive than anything he’s done as a judge. President George W. Bush nominated the virulently homophobic Pryor to the U.S. Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals in 2003, even though the Alabama attorney general had zero experience as a judge–not even in municipal or traffic court.
What were Pryor’s credentials? Well, he was a passionate member of the Federalist Society, and he launched a state investigation of former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman before the Democrat’s fanny had barely hit the seat in his new office. That state probe led to a federal prosecution that landed Siegelman at Oakdale (LA) Federal Correctional Institution, where he still resides today. It is widely believed that Karl Rove, “Bush’s Brain,” orchestrated the Siegelman prosecution and rewarded Pryor for his key role with a nomination to the 11th Circuit.
That was long before Pryor’s ties to gay porn became widely known when we broke the story in fall 2013. What’s the story behind the nude photos of a college student who, despite his painfully thin resume, grew up to be a federal judge? Here’s how we described it in a post dated Sept. 17, 2013: (Warning: If you click on this link and scroll to the bottom of the post, you will find the original Pryor photo, unedited. If you are squeamish about full-frontal male nudity, we advise caution if you choose to click on the link.)
Nude photographs of federal judge Bill Pryor appeared in the 1990s on a gay pornography Web site, a Legal Schnauzer investigation shows.
The photos appeared in 1997 on badpuppy.com, which was in its online infancy, having debuted in mid 1995. Based in Cocoa, Florida, the site has morphed into one of the largest gay porn sites on the Web.
Images obtained by Legal Schnauzer show Pryor posing completely nude, staring into the camera and sporting a noticeable erection. We see no indication that the photos were taken surreptitiously, without Pryor’s knowledge. Sources say Pryor was college age when the photos were taken.
Is there doubt about the photographs’ authenticity? Well, a major Republican political figure in Alabama was shown the pictures in the late ’90s and immediately exclaimed, “Holy Cow, That’s Bill Pryor!” A former female political journalist at a Birmingham news outlet was shown the photos and reportedly guffawed and semi-fainted at the same time. Did either of those insiders express any doubt that it was Bill Pryor in the photo? Nope.
………………………………………
I’ve sought to interview Pryor at least three times about the gay-porn photos–and other issues. Each time, he has refused to take questions or even issue a substantive comment. In fact, he simply has not responded. I gave him another opportunity yesterday, via the following e-mail:
Roger Shuler
to: william_h_pryor_jr@ca11.uscourts.gov
date: Wed, May 18, 2016 at 4:15 PM
subject: Inquiry about Donald Trump, U.S. Supreme Court, and your appearance at badpuppy.com
mailed-by: gmail.com
Judge Pryor:
As I’m sure you know, Donald Trump yesterday mentioned you as a possible nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. I would like to request an interview or a comment on this topic, especially in light of my fall 2013 reports about nude photos of you that appeared at the badpuppy.com gay pornography Web site.
I have requested interviews on this subject multiple times in the past, and you never have granted one. I repeat that request today and ask that the interview be done in the next 24-48 hours because this is a national, breaking story.
A few questions that quickly come to mind:
* Have you disclosed to the Trump campaign your appearance atbadpuppy.com?
* Did you disclose this information to the U.S. Senate during your confirmation hearings after being nominated to the federal bench?
* Would it be appropriate for you to consider a SCOTUS nomination, given the gay-porn photos in your background–and your public statements indicating you oppose gay rights. Multiple sources say you were confronted about the photographs in roughly 1997, long before your nomination to the federal bench.
* What does the presence of such photographs say about your judgment and your suitability for a position on the federal bench, much less SCOTUS?
* Were you asked about these photographs–or other potentially embarrassing and/or corrupting background information–during the confirmation process for your position on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals? If so, did you answer truthfully? If you failed to disclose this information, what does that say about your suitability for a role on the federal bench? Did you effectively lie to Congress?
Trump’s comments represent a breaking story, so I ask that you respond to this e-mail by 5 p.m. on 5/20/16 (Friday).
justiceleague00
Justice League 