Republicans block bill requiring Supreme Court to adopt enforceable ethics code

Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and other Republican senators on Wednesday blocked a bill that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct and create a mechanism to enforce it. it after several high-profile controversies.

The legislation, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, would require Supreme Court justices to adopt a code of conduct, create a mechanism to investigate alleged violations of the code and other laws, and improve disclosure of potential conflicts of interest .

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) requested unanimous consent to pass the legislation Wednesday afternoon.

He criticized Chief Justice John Roberts on the Senate floor for not doing enough to enforce ethical standards on the Supreme Court after media reports revealed that conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas received lavish gifts and hospitality from conservative donors.

Durbin also cited concerns about Alito’s impartiality after two flags associated with former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were displayed at his home and vacation home.

“In November of last year, the Supreme Court adopted an ineffective code of conduct for its judges, but it did not meaningfully enforce the ethics rule and did not include a mechanism for dealing with violations of the code,” Durbin said.

“The Supreme Court’s own code of conduct reiterates that judges must disqualify themselves in cases where there is reasonable doubt about their impartiality. Despite serious questions about the impartiality of Justice Alito and Justice Thomas in numerous cases, they have refused to recuse themselves from these cases. The ethical crisis of the Supreme Court, the highest court in the country, is unacceptable,” he said.

But Graham immediately opposed the request.

“Let’s be clear: this is not about improving the court. This is about undermining the court,” he said.

He noted that in April last year all nine Supreme Court judges signed a declaration on ethics, principles and practices and in November they promulgated a code of conduct.

“That would be overkill and would undermine the court’s ability to operate effectively,” he warned.

“All I would say is that there are provisions in this bill that should bother anyone who cares about an independent judiciary,” he said, pointing out that the bill would create an investigative panel of lower court judges to “preside over their bosses.” in the Supreme Court. Court.

Senators John Kennedy (R-La.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) also opposed Durbin’s request.

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Courts and Judicial Oversight and sponsor of the Supreme Court ethics bill, spoke in favor.

“Our bill does not make the Supreme Court subservient to Congress in any respect. The bill requires the judicial branch of government to create its own ethics enforcement mechanism that will be administered within the judicial branch by the judicial branch of government,” he said.

Durbin requested consent to pass Supreme Court ethics reform after he and Whitehouse unsuccessfully sought a meeting with Roberts to discuss the need for Alito to recuse himself from Trump-related cases.

Roberts rejected his request in a May 30 letter, which informed Democratic senators that such a meeting would be inadvisable due to “concerns about the separation of powers and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”

Durbin and Whitehouse say Alito should recuse himself from a pending case over whether Trump should have legal immunity for any crimes related to his official acts as president.

They say Alito should step aside from the case after The New York Times reported that an inverted flag, a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement, was displayed at his home in Virginia, and that another flag associated with Jan. 6 , 2021 – an “Appeal to Heaven” flag – was displayed at his New Jersey beach house.

They also wanted to discuss with Roberts the need for the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of ethics following reports that Alito and Thomas accepted lavish gifts and hospitality from conservative donors.

ProPublica reported last year that Alito took a lavish fishing vacation in Alaska with Paul Singer, a hedge fund billionaire, and accepted a trip on a private jet that would have cost more than $100,000 if he paid out of pocket.

And ProPublica reported last year that Thomas accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospitality, travel and other gifts from conservative donor Harlan Crow.

The watchdog group Fix the Court, citing ProPublica reporting, released a list of 193 gifts totaling more than $4 million in value that Thomas has accepted since 2004.

Alito also came under renewed scrutiny this week after a liberal journalist published a recorded conversation from a Supreme Court gala in which the judge endorsed the idea that the nation needs to return “to a place of godliness.” .