Republican senators tore into a push by Democrats Tuesday for new ethics standards for the Supreme Court, saying it was a political assault aimed at delegitimizing the conservative-leaning Roberts court.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Democrats were holding a hearing to force a code of conduct on the justices as part of a larger campaign by progressives to pack the court with more liberal justices to counter the current majority appointed by Republican presidents.
Tuesday’s hearing came on the heels of a series of articles raising ethics and disclosure concerns involving luxury trips and gifts Justice Clarence Thomas received from a GOP mega-donor, a real estate deal involving Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, and scrutiny over George Mason University’s employment of GOP-appointed justices to teach law school classes. Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to testify at the session, citing the independence of the judiciary and the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers.
“You can write all the articles you want to write. You can take all the shots at the justices you want to take. You can picket before their houses, but this is not going to stop people from doing their job,” Mr. Graham said. “This is an unseemly effort by the Democratic Left to destroy the legitimacy of the Roberts court. It has put people at risk.”
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, echoed Mr. Graham’s complaints in comments Tuesday on his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz.”
“This is not organic,” Mr. Cruz said. “This is not happening just naturally. This is a political campaign every bit as organized as a campaign for governor, for senator, or for president.”
Mr. Graham noted that even though Justice Elena Kagan — part of the court’s more liberal wing — was dean of Harvard University before becoming a sitting justice, she did not recuse herself from a major affirmative action case against the university now before the court. The legal battle challenges Harvard’s use of race as a factor during its application process.
Mr. Graham suggested the news articles targeting conservative justices are a reflection of progressive unhappiness with recent court decisions on such issues as abortion and government regulation. He said press investigations have not acknowledged that law schools have paid for the travel of liberal justices, just as they have done for conservative justices.
“There is a very selective outrage here, and from our point of view on this side of the aisle we are going to push back as hard as we can,” said the South Carolina Republican. “This is not about making the court better, this is about destroying a conservative court. It will not work.”
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin denied GOP charges that politics was behind Tuesday’s hearing, citing a 2011 letter he wrote discussing potential legislation to implement a code of conduct for the high court. He said recent revelations of potential ethical lapses at the Supreme Court only underscored the need for action by Congress.
“The Supreme Court should step up and fix this themselves,” the Illinois Democrat said. “For years they refused and because the court will not act, Congress must.”
“We wouldn’t tolerate this from a city council member or alderman. It falls short of any ethical standards we expect of any public servant in America and yet the Supreme Court won’t even acknowledge it’s a problem,” Mr. Durbin said. “The status quo must change.”
Since early April, there’s been a steady drip of media revelations about the justices appointed by Republican presidents, questioning their ethical and disclosure practices. ProPublica first reported Justice Thomas did not disclose multiple luxury vacations he took with billionaire Harlan Crow — or that Mr. Crow had purchased the home of the justice’s mother despite her continuing to reside there.
Justice Thomas has defended his friendship with Mr. Crow and said he consulted with colleagues about disclosure requirements, denying he flouted any requirements.
A few weeks later, Politico reported Justice Gorsuch did not disclose that the buyer of a 40-acre property he co-owned in Colorado was the head of a law firm that has had nearly two dozen cases before the high court. Justice Gorsuch, one of three sellers in the deal, reportedly made between $250,000 and $500,000 from the sale. The justice disclosed the sale but not the buyer — the head of the law firm Greenberg Traurig.
Last week, The New York Times also scrutinized the George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School’s close relationship with Justices Gorsuch, Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh, reporting the school has employed them at generous salaries to teach law school classes.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Republican senators noted that the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and current Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson have had trips paid for by universities in the past.
The high court currently doesn’t have a mandatory code of ethics, even though lower court judges are expected to avoid impropriety or do business with anyone who may come before the bench. Chief Justice Roberts has said the high court has generally followed the Judicial Conferences’ Code of Ethics that are binding on lower courts — but not the Supreme Court — since 1991.
He said all justices must file financial disclosures that are reviewed by the Judicial Conference financial committee, and also follow what lower courts do with recusals. But he noted the system is a bit flexible given the composition of the high court.
He also said the justices’ security has faced increased threats. He said that at times they do not disclose justices’ travel arrangements for security reasons.
Conservative members of the court have faced protests since last year when a draft of the court’s ruling overturning national abortion rights was leaked, prompting liberal activists to picket outside the justices’ homes. One California man, Nicholas John Roske, even traveled to the Maryland home of Justice Kavanaugh with plans to assassinate him. He’s currently in federal custody awaiting trial.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.