Trump shouldn't pack the Supreme Court while under criminal investigation

Trump is on the verge of selecting a second Supreme Court nominee while his entire presidency is in question, thanks to an ongoing criminal probe by the FBI.

After Justice Anthony Kennedy announced that he will be retiring on July 31, Trump wasted no time vowing to fill the seat, even as he, his family, his 2016 presidential campaign, and many members of his inner circle are being investigated for everything from obstructing justice to colluding with Russia.

Trump already filled one stolen Supreme Court seat last year, after Senate Republicans blockaded the legitimate nominee named by President Barack Obama, Merrick Garland.

Even though Antonin Scalia died in February 2016, Republicans refused to hold a hearing for Garland, holding the seat open to allow Trump to install Neil Gorsuch to the court a year later.

Gorsuch is a far-right conservative who this year provided votes allowing Trump’s Muslim ban and curtailing workers’ rights.

Now Trump is plotting to ram through a nomination to Kennedy before the results of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is complete.

The Mueller investigation has already racked up five guilty pleas and 20 indictments, and he’s not finished with his investigation yet.

His former national security adviser Michael Flynn has already pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement about his activities on the campaign, which include multiple contacts with foreign powers who sought to influence the outcome of the election.

Trump’s campaign manager Paul Manafort is currently behind bars for attempting to tamper with witnesses testifying against him in his upcoming trial. Manafort faces multiple charges.

Trump’s fixer and longtime attorney Michael Cohen had his property raided by the FBI and is reportedly considering offering up evidence against Trump. Cohen, who answered directly to Trump, worked to quash stories unfavorable to Trump and made payoffs to porn star Stormy Daniels — and possibly others — to keep Trump’s extramarital affair out of the news.

Additionally, Trump’s son Donald Jr. lied during congressional testimony. Trump’s son was involved — along with his son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign chairman Steve Bannon — in a meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian operative offering dirt on Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Trump has already filled one Supreme Court seat he had no right to fill. Now, with so many indictments and convictions piling up, and an ongoing investigation into whether a foreign power helped install him in the White House, he is preparing to do it again.