He said recent criticism of high court justices is without merit. Instead of Roberts, senators heard testimony from five legal and ethics experts, including a former attorney general, Michael Mukasey, who served under President George W. While the rules are not new, the statement provided by Roberts said that the undersigned justices “today reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe in carrying out their responsibilities as Members of the Supreme Court of the United States.” Roberts also provided a “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices” signed by all nine justices that describes the ethical rules they follow about travel, gifts and outside income. Plus: Justice Clarence Thomas controversy explained: what he’s accused of doing, and why it raises ethical concernsĭurbin had invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at the early May hearing, but Roberts declined, saying that testimony by a chief justice is exceedingly rare because of the importance of preserving judicial independence. The organization also revealed that Crow gifted Thomas and his wife Ginni with hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of annual vacations and trips over several decades.ĭon’t miss: Clarence Thomas says he was advised he didn’t need to disclose GOP donor’s gifts but will change his approach on disclosuresĪlso see: Justice Clarence Thomas let GOP donor pay tuition: reportĪnd: Activist directed money to wife of Clarence Thomas: report The donor, Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow, had purchased three properties belonging to Thomas and his family in a transaction worth more than $100,000 that Thomas never disclosed, according to the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica. Graham also asserted that casting aspersions on the court puts the safety of justices at risk.ĭemocrats called the hearing after news reports detailed a close relationship between Thomas and a conservative donor from Texas. Lindsey Graham, the committee’s ranking Republican.
It is about trying to delegitimize a conservative court that was appointed through the traditional process,” said Sen. “This assault on Justice Thomas is well beyond ethics. Their comments showed how unlikely it is that Congress will pass legislation on the matter, with the parties worlds apart when it comes to the credibility of the Supreme Court, particularly after the seismic decision last June that overturned abortion rights. Republicans, however, criticized the hearing as an effort to destroy the reputation of Thomas, one of the staunchest conservative voices on the court. See: Durbin: ‘Everything is on the table’ in response to ‘tangled web’ of Clarence Thomas revelations
“For years, they have refused, and, because the court will not act, Congress must.”ĭon’t miss: Supreme Court plays down surging ethics concerns and plummeting public opinion “The Supreme Court could step up and fix this themselves,” Durbin said as he opened the hearing.
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