Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.), the top Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) are asking whether Chief Justice John Roberts has taken any steps to investigate conflicts of interest concerning two fellow Supreme Court judges.
A letter from Oversight Democrats on Thursday addresses lavish trips and other undisclosed gifts made to Justice Clarence Thomas, as well as reports detailing the display of two flags associated with the “Stop the Steal” effort at Justice Samuel Alito’s home.
Lawmakers credit journalists and congressional committees with uncovering details that contributed to an ethics crisis at the court. Meanwhile, Roberts declined a request to meet with lawmakers.
“This anomalous way of tracking ethical transgressions on the Court raises the question of whether the Supreme Court is unable, or perhaps simply unwilling, to investigate and police its own conduct to ensure that judges fulfill their statutory and constitutional obligations.” , Raskin and Ocasio-Cortez wrote to Roberts.
“Because you have refused to meet with Congress, we question what steps you are actually taking, as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or as president of the Judicial Conference, to investigate these egregious episodes of political bias and lack of disclosure.”
The Democratic-led Senate Judiciary Committee recently released documents indicating that Thomas failed to disclose three additional trips he took that were paid for by Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow.
And House Judiciary Democrats called on Roberts to pressure Alito to recuse himself, saying that by displaying the flags he violated a provision that prohibits judges from endorsing a candidate for public office and another that requires them to recuse themselves when their “impartiality can be reasonably questioned”.
Alito has said his wife was responsible for the flags, telling Congress last month that she had nothing to do with the flags flying at their two homes.
Although Thomas was rescued from a case concerning John Eastman, a lawyer who helped devise former President Trump’s fake election scheme, none of the justices have recused themselves from any of the pending cases relating to January 6th.
“Judges’ stubborn refusal to recuse themselves is increasingly untenable,” the Oversight lawmakers wrote.
“The transparently partisan ideological activity of Justice Alito and Justice Thomas calls into question their impartiality with regard to matters currently pending before the Supreme Court. We understand that both judges refused to recuse themselves from this matter. However, the application of the Code of Court Conduct, as well as constitutional and statutory guarantees that cases will be heard by impartial judges, cannot be based on a judge’s introspection and subjective assessment of his or her own conduct. ”
The letter asks Roberts to answer a series of questions about actions the court may have taken following the report on the two justices. It also takes note of the investigation conducted by the Supreme Court following the release of the draft Dobbs opinion.
“We know that the Supreme Court is capable of conducting a comprehensive factual investigation,” Raskin and Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
