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Senate Judiciary Committee To Hold Hearing On Supreme Court Ethical Standards

Don't expect much from John Roberts's leadership on this issue.

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Supreme Court artsyOh, the problems Clarence Thomas’s lax ethical standards hath wrought! Of course you know that the latest ethical scandal for the Supreme Court justice is Pro Publica’s bombshell about the lavish gifts and trips billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow gave to Thomas without any recusal or reporting. He won’t be impeached for it, but that isn’t the only consequence.

Yesterday the Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts about the mess. The TL;DR version is why HAVEN’T YOU DONE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS YET. Seriously, the letter notes these issues are nothing new and urges Roberts do… anything to stem to tide of eroding public trust in the Court caused by mounting ethics concerns. Noting, “We urge you to immediately open such an investigation and take all needed action to prevent further misconduct.”

Additionally the letter says they’ll be holding a hearing into the matter.

In the coming days, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing regarding the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards. And if the Court does not resolve this issue on its own, the Committee will consider legislation to resolve it. But you do not need to wait for Congress to act to undertake your own investigation into the reported conduct and to ensure that it cannot happen again. We urge you to do so.

Given Roberts’s tepid reaction to previous ethics issues, don’t hold your breath waiting for the Court to do something.

Read the full letter below.

Letter from Chair Durbin to Chief Justice Roberts - 4.10.23

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on

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