ATLANTA — A special committee will investigate the hiring of a law clerk by the chief judge of the federal appeals court in Atlanta in light of allegations the clerk had sent racist and xenophobic texts, a judicial panel ruled Friday.
Chief Judge Bill Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was cleared in January of any misconduct by the federal appeals court in New York, which was assigned to look into the issue. But the Judicial Conduct and Disability Committee, composed of seven judges from across the country, said more investigation is needed.
The law clerk hired by Pryor to work for him in 2023 is Crystal Clanton. According to a 2017 story in The New Yorker, Clanton, while working as national field director for a conservative student group, sent a colleague a text message that read, “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE. Like (expletive) them all.” She also allegedly sent text messages demeaning Muslims.
