Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee are set to hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform.
The high court has been rocked by various reports about the justices' private lifestyles and the failure to disclose gifts or key financial activity to the public. In response, many top Democrats, such as Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin , have called for an ethics overhaul.Durbin invited Chief Justice John Roberts to appear before the panel's hearing this week, but he declined, citing concerns about the separation of powers.
"I'm disappointed that he did — but he declined. We're going forward, and I think we're going to propose a bipartisan code of ethics," Durbin told MSNBC."I think we can come up with a bipartisan measure and move forward and say to the Supreme Court: The highest court in the land should not have the lowest standard of ethics in the federal government."
Some of the controversies plaguing the court include a ProPublica report that Justice Clarence Thomas went on luxury vacations that appear to have been funded in part by conservative billionaire Harlan Crow and that he didn't disclose it. Crow also bought property from Thomas that wasn't disclosed, per the report.
Then revelations emerged that Justice Neil Gorsuch sold property shortly before ascending to the court without disclosing it. The property was sold to a person who led a law firm that has participated in Supreme Court business in the past.There have also been reports about the business dealings of the chief justice's wife. All of these developments have fed fodder for Democrats displeased with the court's rulings, particularly the overturn of Roe v. Wade last year.
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