Fact Check: Was judge who ruled against Trump's name on Kennedy Center bribed by George Soros?

WASHINGTON, DC: After a federal judge ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that the judge in the case had taken a bribe from George Soros to rule against Trump. Let us analyze the origins of the claim and fact-check it.

Claim: Judge in Kennedy Center case was bribed by George Soros

According to a post that appeared on X, activist judge Barron, who blocked President Trump’s name from staying on the Kennedy Center, just got busted taking bribes from the Soros Foundation.

The post claims that a judicial watchdog group, the Citizens Unified National Trust Society, has definitive proof that the judge who ruled against keeping Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center accepted bribes from George Soros. The wire transfers are there for anyone to see with a simple FOIA request. 

Society President Jon Raebro allegedly said, “You’d be surprised how many people get caught because they don’t realize their crimes are public record. Judge Barron should have known better.”

It further stated that the group has already sent the full file to the Congressional Judicial Review Board, which is now legally required to review the case. 

The claim has been shared on X and Facebook, garnering hundreds of thousands of views, triggering outrage against the judge, while a few others dismissed it as fake.

Fact Check: False, no credible evidence supports the claim

The claim, however, is false, as there are no credible reports about the judge taking a bribe from the billionaire to rule against Trump.

The claim regarding the existence of the group called Citizens Unified National Trust Society is also baseless.

A Google search for the claim, along with the group and judge’s name and society president’s name, yielded no credible results from prominent news media outlets, which, if true, would not go unreported.

Also, the judge who ordered the removal of Trump’s name from the monument is Christopher Cooper, not Judge Barron, as claimed by the post. 

Judge ordered removal of Donald Trump's name from Kennedy Center

On June 9, the center removed Trump's name from its website following a court order. 

The changes stem from a ruling issued in May by District Judge Christopher Cooper, who concluded that the board lacked the authority to rename the institution after Trump. 

"The Kennedy Center's organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board's unilateral say-so. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it," Cooper wrote.