Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme judicial has been invited to speak at a hearing on judicial ethics on May 2 by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL). Tuesday, Roberts responded that he wasn’t interested.
A court representative published a letter Roberts addressed to Durbin:
I must respectfully decline your invitation.
Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.
Breaking: #SCOTUS Chief Justice Roberts declines Senator Durbin’s invitation to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee pic.twitter.com/xHQ7CInuwq
— Shannon Bream (@ShannonBream) April 25, 2023
Roberts seemed to be trying to make a point by adding a Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices along with the letter and noting, “All of the current Members of the Supreme Court subscribe.”
After news broke that Justice Clarence Thomas had taken holidays with longtime friend and GOP supporter Harlan Crow and didn’t disclose many real estate transactions in 2014 on his financial declarations, Durbin asked the Chief Justice to testify. Thomas assumed he didn’t need to report the trades because he lost money on them, but he is now reportedly working on filing updates. Meanwhile, he claimed in a statement that he didn’t record the vacations because he was not required to do so under the ethical rules in force at the time.
Democrats are protesting:
Approximately two dozen Democratic members of Congress, led by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia, have asked Chief Justice John Roberts to open an investigation into Thomas. They are also requesting that the Judicial Conference refer Thomas to the US attorney general for possible violations of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
“There is at least reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas intentionally disregarded the disclosure requirement to report the sale of his interest in the Savannah properties in an attempt to hide the extent of his financial relationship with Crow,” Whitehouse and Johnson’s joint statement read.
Following those reports, Durbin wrote Roberts a letter earlier this month pleading with him to “immediately open” an investigation and “take all needed action to prevent further misconduct.” “If the court does not resolve this issue on its own, the committee will consider legislation to resolve it,” he threatened.
Senate Judiciary Republicans encouraged Roberts to boycott the hearing last week after Democrats were accused of attempting to humiliate Thomas. Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) advised, “I would not recommend that the chief accept his invitation because it will be a circus.”
Good. Three separate and equal branches of government. Maybe @SenateDems should read the Constitution.
— Gabby25 (@Gabby2Angels) April 25, 2023
Not merely because of the separation of powers, Roberts reached the appropriate decision in this case. If he attended, the hearing would turn into a blatantly politicized spectacle. He and the other conservative justices would have been the target of a flurry of attacks from Democrats, who are still enraged that Roe v. Wade was overturned.
In any case, RedState’s Sister Toldjah noted that the accusations against Clarence Thomas seem to be of no real significance, adding:
Democrats have been trying to shut Clarence Thomas up since the moment he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1991, with then-Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Joe Biden (D-Del.) leading the way in perpetuating the ugly, baseless smear campaigns against him.
Here we are in the spring of 2024, and nothing has changed…
Durbin and others are merely harassing the court in an effort to gain political advantage and sway future rulings to the left. Chief Justice Roberts’ response was correct.
As we reported in March, “Thomas, who should be the left’s hero based on his pigmentation and level of success- alone- has faced nothing but violent and psychopathic resistance from the Marxist left.”
And the push against him serving the country from his position of authority is again attacked by two groups of deceitful anti-America activists dressed up as lawyers and watchdogs.
The truth is the left has never accepted American independence or the emancipating of free citizens from an authoritarian style of Government and they have never stopped pushing for more control over American liberty.
The groups’ message, while crafting a code of ethics for the Supreme Court and their family members to abide by sent directly to Thomas, is clearly to get himself and his Conservative wife under control, or they will both face humiliation and Maoist CCP-style denunciation rallies for their conduct against the Marxist left.
We can expect authoritarians to use the tools of tyranny; none of this is a surprise. This story raises the question further of how very well-funded non-profit conduits can possibly channel foreign money into US elections and into our valued institutions, such as the Judicial system.
Consider if these legal moves, clearly targeting Thomas and his family, are just another usurpation of the American Republic.
A move to transform the nation’s highest court continues with yet another power grab by two leftist Non-Profit- Non-Government Organizations, who both insist that the system of Government in the United States of America is a “Democracy.”
