The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday told Attorney General Merrick Garland it needs a briefing on the safety measures aimed at keeping Supreme Court justices safe following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump this month.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, and Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, issued a letter requesting a staff-level briefing by Aug. 6 regarding the Justice Department’s efforts to safeguard the high court members.
“In light of the heightened rhetoric and the recent assassination attempt on President Trump, we remain concerned about the security and safety of all judicial branch officers — including and especially the safety of Supreme Court justices,” they wrote.
The lawmakers pointed to rhetoric from Democrats threatening to restructure the court if the justices don’t rule their way in certain cases and introducing articles of impeachment against Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., two of the high court’s most conservative jurists.
The House lawmakers also cited the 2022 leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that gave women a national right to abortion, as spawning security concerns.
The Republicans said that the leak prompted a California man to travel to Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh’s home with plans to assassinate him.
The leak also led to left-wing activists organizing protests outside the conservative justices’ homes and publicizing their addresses.
The letter noted that Sen. Katie Britt, Alabama Republican, revealed a Justice Department memo to the U.S. Marshals Service discouraging it from arresting protesters.
“In light of the incendiary rhetoric directed toward Supreme Court justices, such a limitation on the authority of U.S. Marshals is dangerous and misguided,” the lawmakers wrote.
A spokesperson from the Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.