Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday night he wanted to assure the public that the nation's highest court is "committed to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards of conduct."
Speaking at the American Law Institute’s annual dinner in Washington, D.C., Roberts's remarks were his first public comments since the Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this month over the possibility of the nine justices adopting a code of ethics.
BIDEN'S OTHER CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS: STUDENT LOANS CANCELLATION IN LIMBO
“We are continuing to look at things we can do to give practical effect to that commitment, and I am confident there are ways to do that that are consistent with our status as an independent branch of government under the Constitution’s separation of powers,” Roberts added.
Roberts did not specify during his speech what measures he was looking into for the high court, and he did not address any recent allegations of ethical lapses among the justices or calls for an ethics code.
“On a final issue of concern inside the court, I want to assure people that I am committed to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards of conduct," he said.
The chief justice's remarks follow a series of reports primarily by the investigative news site ProPublica, which has reported on accounts of luxury trips and gifts provided to Justice Clarence Thomas by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. The ProPublica investigation revealed Crow's acquisition of three properties belonging to the justice and his family, as well as his payment for two years of tuition at private schools for Thomas's grandnephew — gifts that were not disclosed on the justice's forms.
All nine justices recently signed a statement of ethics that Roberts provided to the Democratic-led committee.
Roberts's comments on Tuesday suggested he knows the response to the committee likely will not quell critics, and Democrats have continued their calls to establish binding ethics.
Conservative defenders of the court have accused the ProPublica reports of attempting to sow distrust in the court, including Crow himself, who referred to the reports on Thomas as a "political hit job."
The high court is still trailing off a tumultuous term last year, which saw the unprecedented leak of a draft opinion signaling the overturning of Roe v. Wade and mounting protests that resulted in a fence raised around the court that was removed just ahead of the start of the most recent term in October.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Supreme Court has signaled an interest in ethics changes in the past. Justice Elena Kagan, who also spoke at the event on Tuesday, told lawmakers in 2019 that Roberts was considering a code of ethics.
The chief justice's concern with "separation of powers" is likely a response to increasing pressure from Senate Democrats to approve legislation requiring a code of ethics. Roberts has resisted those calls in the past, arguing Congress should refrain from legislating the high court's internal workings.