White House gift shop already selling Brett Kavanaugh commemorative coins

The nominee has yet to be confirmed by the Senate

(Getty)

The Senate is preparing to vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court but the White House gift shop has already been selling coins with his name on it.

Those interested are able to pre-order the commemorative, 24k gold-finished coin which also features a cameo of Donald Trump’s first nomination to the highest court in the country Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Per the gift shop’s website the coins all have an “image of President Trump with Each Justice on Each Coin Side. Both Coin Faces Are Equal in Every Respect & Symbolic of Equal and Blind Justice Based on the US Constitution”.

The coin also comes with a 50-page "monograph" about the history of the Supreme Court, which includes a section on Mr Trump's "Consitutional Legacy" - spelling error included.

Mr Kavanaugh has yet to be nominated, but the vote is scheduled for the late afternoon of 6 October after what Republican Senator Susan Collins called a "dysfunctional circus" of a confirmation process.

Mr Trump was fairly confident his nominee would sail through the process, as most do, even after the explosive allegations of sexual assault were made public.

Christine Blasey Ford has accused Mr Kavanaugh of allegedly assaulting her when the pair were in high school in 1982. Two more women - Julie Swetnick and a Yale classmate of the nominee, Deborah Ramirez - also came forward.

Dr Ford's powerful testimony in front of the Senate investigation was followed by days of protests led by survivors of sexual assault and several thousand people opposed to Mr Kavanaugh's appointment, particularly in light of the #metoo movement.

Mr Kavanaugh's emotional testimony, which included heated, vitriolic exchanges with Democratic Senators, pushed many to think he was too partisan to sit on the court.

However, after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin broke ranks with his party, Ms Collins and Republican Senator Jeff Flake confirmed they would be voting for the nominee, Senate Majority Mitch McConnell had enough votes to confirm Mr Trump's pick.

But, none of that actually explains how and why Mr Kavanaugh's coin is already on sale featuring the White House seal.

There is no image of the coin available as yet, but as Vox reported: "the coin doesn’t actually exist yet. But neither does the White House Gift Shop — at least physically."

The White House gift shop had been opened by President Harry Truman in 1946, but control of the current iteration of the coin and gift seller lies with a man called Anthony Giannini.

Mr Giannini did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The original purpose of the gift shop was to direct all profits towards a fund for the families of injured or killed Secret Service agents, the Treasury Department's law enforcement agency which protects the president, his family, and other level government staff.

It was originally run by the US Secret Service Uniformed Division Benefit Fund until the end of 2011, when Mr Giannini's company took over.

At one point there was a physical shop in the Old Executive Office Building, where the Vice President and several other staff offices are located just next to the White House.

However, Mr Giannini has not established a brick-and-mortar storefront.

Talking Points Memo investigated why a private citizen - the CEO of Strategic Systems Corporation which develops “supercomputer systems for neural network mapping” according to Mr Giannini's LinkedIn profile - could run a shop which uses the official presidential seal on its items.

On his first request, the US Patent and Trademark Office said he could not - "his initial application was rejected on the pretty straightforward argument that it gave the false impression that it was part of the White House."

Mr Giannini countered "that on the basis of the history of the Gift Shop dating back to Harry Truman that it was deeply tied to the White House. He bought it and now it’s his."