Durbin Delivers Opening Statement During Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing On Judicial Ethics Processes At The Judicial Conference Of The U.S.
Hearing
"I want to thank Judge Wolf for his willingness to testify about the role the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure plays, or fails to play, when it comes to overseeing Supreme Court Justices' compliance with the Ethics in Government Act.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Senator Kennedy, my friend, has identified May 4, 2020, as the kick-off date for this so-called political exercise. I would like to show to my colleague and put in the record a copy of the letter which I sent with Senator Leahy, Senator Whitehouse, and others, to Chief Justice John Roberts dated February 13, 2012 What were we asking or making inquiry on? We were asking about information on the code of conduct and the ethical behavior of the Supreme Court Justices So to say this all started on May 4, 2020, is just plain wrong.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
For more than a decade, I have been calling for Supreme Court Justices to be held at a minimum to the same ethical standards as every other federal judge As I mentioned, I started that in February 2012 I again urged Chief Justice Roberts to act after the recent ProPublica revelations about luxury vacations and travel given to a Supreme Court Justice by billionaire Harlan Crow.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
I invited the Chief Justice on behalf of Democrats on the Committee to testify. He declined. I'm sorry that he did. I then called on him to rescue the reputation of the Court by simply taking action to respond to this well documented outrage. For anyone, including my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, to believe that this is normal, acceptable conduct for an elected official to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts, vacations, [or] to have your mother's home purchased by an individual, the list just goes on. The American people don't understand this.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
What this Court has to rely on is the confidence of the American people and the integrity of Justices when they hand down decisions... If there is any question about the integrity and character of these Justices, it really undermines the institution of the Court. That's why I appealed directly to the Chief Justice. This is the Roberts Court. And what he chooses to do by way of ethics is going to be remembered for generations. I hope he will step up and say that's the end of the special treatment for Supreme Court Justices. They will be held to the same ethical standard of every other federal judge. That's not too much to ask."
Source