The Judiciary Committee postponed votes to issue subpoenas for benefactors of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito after Republicans threatened a politically charged fight.
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“We will continue our efforts to authorize subpoenas in the near future,” Senator Richard J. Durbin said. “The highest court in the land cannot have the lowest ethical standards.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday abruptly put off its push to subpoena two conservative allies of Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas as part of a Supreme Court ethics inquiry that has met stiff resistance from Republicans.
Facing G.O.P. threats to engage in a bitter, drawn-out fight, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois and the panel’s chairman, halted his planned effort to compel cooperation from Leonard Leo, a longtime leader of the Federalist Society, and the billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow.
Mr. Durbin said that Democrats remained united in their desire to force more information from the men about undisclosed luxury travel and other benefits provided to the justices, but that they needed more time to assess a barrage of politically charged amendments that Republicans were planning to offer in an effort to embarrass them and derail the inquiry.
Republicans said they planned to draw immigration issues into the fight and require votes to subpoena the staff of Justice Sonia Sotomayor about promoting her personal book sales, along with other hot-button issues.
Democrats said differences among their own panel members about how to handle the onslaught necessitated a delay.
“We had 88 amendments filed last night,” Mr. Durbin told reporters. “Analyzing and going through and having members react, we ran out of time.”
“We will continue our efforts to authorize subpoenas in the near future,” he said. “The highest court in the land cannot have the lowest ethical standards.”
As the panel convened on Thursday, Republican members made it clear that they did not intend to let the subpoenas be approved without a serious fight. They accused Democrats of abusing their subpoena power and harassing private citizens in an effort to discredit the court and individual justices.
“There’s a pent-up demand on our side for information,” said Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the senior Republican on the panel. “A lot of us would like to know what is going on in the Biden world, what’s going on with Sotomayor selling her books.”
Had Republicans followed through, it could have taken hours to consider the amendments when most senators were expecting to leave on Thursday afternoon for the Veterans Day weekend.
The fight over the subpoenas is the result of a longstanding push by Mr. Durbin and Senate Democrats to persuade the Supreme Court to adopt a binding ethics code at least commensurate with one followed by judges on the lower federal courts.
The effort gained new momentum in recent months after multiple reports by ProPublica and other news outlets about Justices Thomas and Alito taking private jet trips for stays at exclusive lodges and other luxury spots without revealing them on their financial disclosures. Mr. Leo, who has played a central role in pushing federal courts to the right, reportedly helped arrange an Alaskan fishing trip for Justice Alito while Mr. Crow also purchased real estate from Justice Thomas.
Representatives of the justices say the reporting requirements were unclear, while lawyers for the two men have resisted efforts by the Judiciary Committee to obtain more information from the pair. They argue that the committee is reaching far beyond its power and has no legislative interest in seeking their cooperation. Republicans on the panel share that view.
“The whole charade is truly disgusting,” said Senator Marsha Blackburn, Republican of Tennessee. “You are going after a way to delegitimize the court as an institution.”
Mr. Durbin dismissed that idea and said Congress had a long history of exercising authority over the management of the federal courts. He said that allowing the two conservatives to brush off the Senate would set a precedent that both parties should want to avoid.
“Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow are central players in the ethics crisis plaguing the Supreme Court,” he said. “As chair of this committee, I cannot allow them to thwart congressional authority.”
Even if the panel were to authorize the subpoenas, Republicans have threatened to block their enforcement on the floor in what would most likely be another combative showdown.
Mr. Graham warned Democrats that moving ahead would lead to significantly less cooperation from Republicans on the panel in confirming judges and considering other issues.
“I promise you that everything that was working well with this committee is now in jeopardy,” Mr. Graham said.
Mr. Durbin noted that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. could resolve the political fight by imposing an enforceable code of conduct, a request he said he first made in a letter to the chief justice 11 years ago — and that Chief Justice Roberts has consistently rejected.
“Eleven years after my letter, the country is still waiting,” Mr. Durbin said. “Even after story after story about lavish gifts and luxury trips that Supreme Court justices have accepted and failed to disclose.”
Carl Hulse is the chief Washington correspondent, primarily writing about Congress and national political races and issues. He has nearly four decades of experience reporting in the nation’s capital. More about Carl Hulse
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Source: nytimes.com
