Senate Democrats are ramping up plans to get to the bottom of the connections between Republican billionaire Harlan Crow, far- right Christofascist judicial "activist" and Federalist Society board co- chair Leonard Leo, and ethically challenged Justice Clarence "RV" Thomas:
Senate Democrats announced plans Monday to vote to subpoena a pair of wealthy conservatives and a judicial activist who have underwritten or organized lavish travel for some Supreme Court justices, a move that adds to the pressure on the high court to strengthen its ethics policies.
Senate Judiciary Committee leaders said they would vote as soon as Nov. 9 to authorize subpoenas for information from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow, a close friend and benefactor of Justice Clarence Thomas, and from Leonard Leo, the conservative judicial activist. Senate Democrats do not need the vote of any Republican on the committee to authorize the subpoenas. No separate vote by the full Senate is necessary.
Democratic lawmakers are seeking detailed information about the full extent of Crow’s gifts to Thomas. News reports about the justice’s failure over many years to report private jet travel, real estate deals and other gifts from Crow have prompted calls for the court to strengthen its ethics rules and for greater transparency about the justices’ potential conflicts and recusal decisions.
“By accepting these lavish, undisclosed gifts, the justices have enabled their wealthy benefactors and other individuals with business before the Court to gain private access to the justices while preventing public scrutiny of this conduct,” Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said in the joint announcement. “It is imperative that we understand the full extent of how people with interests before the Court are able to use undisclosed gifts to gain private access to the justices.”
Senate Democrats have backed legislation that would impose disclosure rules on the court that are as strict as those that apply to members of the House and the Senate. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has suggested the court would act on its own as an independent branch of government to demonstrate to the public that it adheres to the “highest standards of conduct.” (our emphasis)
Yeah, how's that been working out? A reason why it's taken so long to get this hearing underway is Roberts' foot- dragging on establishing SCOTUS' own ethics rules. It was time to force the issue for Senate Dems.
Not surprisingly, Christofascist judicial activist/ rat Leo has indicated he won't cooperate with the Committee, because he would have some 'splaining to do should he ever show up. We know he believes in democratic institutions, ethics, and the rule of law, of course.
(Image: Leo, second from left, Thomas and Crow on the right, at Crow's vacation resort / painting by Sharif Tarabay)
