Three years after the 1991 death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist's wife Nan, reports circulated -- some even reaching print in reputable publications -- that Rehnquist was dating Judge Cynthia Holcomb Hall of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. The reports soon faded, and the connection was never fully confirmed or denied.
Among the recently-released Rehnquist papers at the Hoover Institution Archives are several friendly notes between the two, but nothing that would give credence to anything more than a longstanding professional friendship. There is an undated postcard from Hall from Chile, where she was touring wineries, that was signed "Fondly, Cynthia," and other exchanges about travel and similar topics.
But one letter from Judge Hall in July 2004 makes an unusual reference to the reports of 10 years earlier about their dating. She tells the chief justice, "I read the article by Linda Greenhouse in the July 5 New York Times entitled 'The Year Rehnquist May Have Lost His Court.' I dislike her not only for her left leaning reporting, but also because she tried to hook us up romantically and made my life miserable for a week or two."
Reached for comment Greenhouse, the Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter who now teaches at Yale Law School, was mystified. Greenhouse never reported on the dating -- a claim verified by a Westlaw search -- and wonders why Hall would associate her with the report.
"I do remember hearing rumors about their friendship some years after Mrs. Rehnquist died, and I remember hoping it was true because it sounded sweet and he had seemed lonely," Greenhouse said in an email. "But (a) as you know, it wouldn't exactly have been my style to report on rumors of this sort and (b) the Times would hardly have printed such a story without getting comment from both parties, which obviously didn't happen."
The Rehnquist file indicates he responded to Hall's letter in September 2004, just before he was diagnosed with cancer. He made no reference to her comment about Greenhouse, and ended his note this way: "I was sorry to hear that you can't come back for my birthday party on October 5th, but maybe we can arrange to see each other another time."
Hall, who is on senior status, could not be reached for comment.
Comments