Durbin’s request — which would allow Roberts to send a colleague as an alternative — follows recent revelations about a Texas billionaire taking Justice Clarence Thomas on lavish vacations and buying a Georgia home from Thomas and his relatives where his mother lives. The lack of disclosure has revived concerns about the court’s ability to police its own ethics issues.
In his letter, Durbin noted that Roberts’s “last significant discussion” of how Supreme Court justices address ethical issues was contained in a 2011 report on the federal judiciary.
“Since then, there has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, indeed, of public servants generally,” Durbin said. “These problems were already apparent back in 2011, and the Court’s decade-long failure to address them has contributed to a crisis of public confidence. The status quo is no longer tenable.”
The hearing is scheduled May 2.
“The opportunity for the American people to hear from Justices in this setting presents a moment that could strengthen faith in our public institutions,” Durbin said. “The time has come for a new public conversation on ways to restore confidence in the Court’s ethical standards.”
Allegations from congressional Democrats that Thomas probably violated federal ethics laws in his dealings with a Republican donor have been sent to a committee of federal judges responsible for “addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports,” a top judicial official said Tuesday.
