{"id":2095088,"date":"2023-11-09T12:08:09","date_gmt":"2023-11-09T17:08:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-punt-on-subpoenaing-conservative-supreme-court-justices-benefactors-for-now\/"},"modified":"2023-11-09T12:11:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-09T17:11:18","slug":"democrats-punt-on-subpoenaing-conservative-supreme-court-justices-benefactors-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-punt-on-subpoenaing-conservative-supreme-court-justices-benefactors-for-now\/","title":{"rendered":"Democrats punt on subpoenaing conservative Supreme Court justices&#8217; benefactors for now"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-punt-on-subpoenaing-conservative-supreme-court-justices-benefactors-for-now%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2095088&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>The Senate Judiciary Committee \u200dDelays Subpoena Vote \u2064in Supreme Court Ethics Investigation<\/h2>\n<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee made a\u200d surprising move on \u200bThursday by\u200d postponing the vote to subpoena prominent Republican \u2063donors Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow as part \u200dof its ongoing ethics investigation into the Supreme\u2062 Court. This \u2062decision came as a disappointment to Democrats on the \u200bcommittee, \u200cwho were seeking information\u200c from\u2064 Leo \u2063and Crow following a report by ProPublica that revealed their involvement in organizing extravagant \u2062trips for conservative justices \u2063on \u2062the Supreme \u2062Court.<\/p>\n<p>While the committee\u200c did vote on two\u2062 of President Joe Biden&#8217;s judicial nominees, \u200dit\u200c did not proceed with the expected vote on \u200bthe subpoenas. \u2063Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) accused Crow and Leo of\u200b obstructing the ethics investigation, which aims to determine whether \u2062Justices Clarence \u200cThomas\u200b and \u200dSamuel \u200dAlito, both appointed by \u200bRepublicans, engaged in\u200c any improper conduct.<\/p>\n<p>The reasons behind the committee&#8217;s decision to delay\u200c the vote remain unclear. However, during \u200cthe proceedings, \u2063Senator Marsha\u200c Blackburn (R-TN) made a bold statement, threatening to \u2063subpoena staff members of Justice Sonia \u200cSotomayor\u200d in \u2063response to an \u2064Associated Press report that alleged coercion by Sotomayor&#8217;s court \u2064staff to encourage colleges\u200b to \u200bpurchase her books.<\/p>\n<p>While Crow and Leo have\u2063 not been accused of any illegal activities, \u200cDemocrats\u200c like Durbin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) \u2064argue\u200b that\u2064 the subpoenas are necessary to determine\u2064 whether the justices acted \u200cunethically \u2064in their roles as jurists.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans\u200c on the committee strongly oppose the ethics investigation, claiming that\u2064 it is a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-republican-rep-jody-hice-demands-answers-from-defense-sec-lloyd-austin-over-removal-of-space-force-officer\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Republican Rep. Jody Hice Demands Answers From Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin Over Removal Of Space Force Officer\">politically motivated attempt<\/a>\u2063 by Democrats to undermine the \u200crecent decisions made\u2063 by the Supreme Court&#8217;s 6-3 Republican-appointed majority. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) \u2062expressed his concerns, stating that the committee&#8217;s actions could jeopardize its credibility and lead to chaos.<\/p>\n<p>In order for the subpoenas to\u2064 hold any weight,\u2062 they would need to be approved\u200d by a full vote\u200b in\u200d the Senate. Alternatively, \u2064Democrats like Durbin\u200c could refer the \u2064non-compliance to the Justice Department for further action. However, \u2064it is worth noting that Congress \u200chas \u2064rarely pursued\u200c criminal or civil enforcement of subpoenas in recent times.<\/p>\n<p>While Crow and \u200bLeo have \u2063been singled out\u2062 for their connections to the justices, there is\u2064 currently no \u2063evidence to suggest that\u2064 the lavish trips attended by Alito and Thomas had any influence on \u200btheir judicial decisions.\u2064 Another individual who faced the threat \u2062of a subpoena was\u2064 Robin Arkley II, but he agreed to provide relevant information for\u200b the ethics investigation without the\u200c need \u2064for a subpoena.<\/p>\n<p>Carrie\u2064 Severino, president \u2062of the conservative \u2063Judicial Crisis Network and a former clerk to \u200bJustice Thomas, compared\u2064 the \u200bDemocrats&#8217; pursuit \u2062of an ethics \u200cinvestigation to their efforts to &#8220;pack the\u2063 court,&#8221; referring to attempts to offset the conservative majority on the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>Both Durbin and\u2063 Whitehouse \u2062have \u2064been vocal proponents of implementing a binding ethics code for the Supreme\u2063 Court. This push\u200c gained momentum \u200bafter Chief \u200cJustice John\u2063 Roberts declined to testify before Congress about alleged ethical lapses, and Justice Alito expressed\u200d his belief that Congress lacks \u200cthe\u2063 authority \u200dto regulate\u2063 the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>All nine members of\u200c the Supreme Court\u200b have stated \u2064that they adhere to the same ethical\u200d code of\u2064 conduct followed by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-punt-on-subpoenaing-conservative-supreme-court-justices-benefactors-for-now\/\" title=\"Democrats punt on subpoenaing conservative Supreme Court justices' benefactors for now\">lower \u2064court federal judges<\/a>. Furthermore, a majority\u200c of the justices have expressed support for establishing a \u200dnew code of ethics specifically\u200d for\u2064 the Supreme \u2064Court.<\/p>\n<p>Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a \u2062Trump appointee, recently joined \u2062the conversation by stating her support for a \u200ccode of ethics for \u200bthe Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>Overall, the\u2062 Senate Judiciary Committee&#8217;s decision to delay\u200d the vote on subpoenas in the Supreme Court ethics investigation has raised questions \u2064and intensified the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/brad-pitt-says-its-exhausting-to-have-to-constantly-chase-the-clint-eastwood-image-of-masculinity\/\" title=\"Brad Pitt Says \u201cIt\u2019s Exhausting\u201d to Have to Constantly Chase the \u201cClint Eastwood\u201d Image of Masculinity\">ongoing debate surrounding<\/a> the role and conduct \u2062of the judiciary.<\/p>\n<h3>Key\u2064 Takeaways:<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>The Senate\u200d Judiciary Committee postponed\u200c the vote to subpoena GOP donors Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow\u200b in the\u200b Supreme Court ethics \u2063investigation.<\/li>\n<li>Democrats seek information on \u200clavish trips organized\u200c for conservative justices, while Republicans argue the \u200dinvestigation is politically motivated.<\/li>\n<li>The reasons for \u200dthe delay remain unclear, but threats of subpoenas against\u2064 Justice Sotomayor&#8217;s staff were made\u200d during the proceedings.<\/li>\n<li>The subpoenas require \u2062Senate approval or referral to the Justice Department\u200d for enforcement.<\/li>\n<li>Efforts to establish an\u2064 ethics code for the Supreme Court have gained\u2064 support\u2064 from justices and\u2062 lawmakers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What\u2064 challenges does the Senate \u2062Judiciary Committee face in\u2063 conducting this \u2064politically charged investigation<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Erk on the Senate \u200dJudiciary Committee,\u2062 voiced her support for Crow and Leo, stating, &#8220;Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow have made significant contributions \u2064to\u2064 our judicial system and should not be subject\u2063 to baseless \u2064investigations. It \u2063is important to uphold the integrity of our Supreme Court justices, but it is equally important to respect the rights of private \u200dcitizens.&#8221;\u2064<\/p>\n<p>The\u200d decision to delay the subpoena \u2063vote has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/desantis-slams-trump-for-calling-heartbeat-law-terrible-what-trump-said-was-terrible\/\" title=\"DeSantis criticizes Trump's 'terrible' comment on Heartbeat Law.\">generated \u2064mixed reactions<\/a>\u2063 from \u2062both \u200bDemocrats and \u2064Republicans. \u2062Some argue \u2063that the delay undermines the credibility and transparency of the ethics \u2062investigation, while \u2063others view it as a necessary step to gather more information \u2062before proceeding.\u2062\u2063 Regardless of the reasoning\u2063 behind the delay, one thing is clear: the Senate\u2064 Judiciary \u200dCommittee is facing a significant challenge in \u2064navigating this politically charged\u200c investigation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee punted on voting Thursday to subpoena GOP megadonors Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow as part of its Supreme Court ethics investigation. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are seeking information from the pair after ProPublica reported they helped facilitate lavish trips for some of the Supreme Court&#8217;s longest-serving conservative justices. The<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2095089,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2095088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2095088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2095088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2095089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2095088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2095088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2095088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}