WASHINGTON — Chief Justice John Roberts refused to meet with Democratic senators to discuss Thursday Supreme Court Ethics issues after reports of controversial flags being flown in court Samuel Alitothe houses of
In letter Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said Roberts “must respectfully decline your request for a hearing,” citing concerns about protecting judicial independence.
It was no surprise that Roberts refused to meet with the senators last year he refused to attend an ethics hearing for similar reasons.
In his last letter, he noted that a meeting with representatives of a party “interested in the issues in court” is another reason why “such a meeting is not considered appropriate.”
Whitehouse said series of posts At X, Roberts said it was “disappointing” that the meeting was held in the chief justice’s role as president of the Judicial Conference of the United States, not as a member of the judiciary’s administrative and policy-making body, the court.
“All of this means that until we have a Supreme Court that applies the basic principles of the rule of law: honest fact-finding and impartial decision-making,” Whitehouse added.
Last week, two senators Roberts asked On January 6, 2021, to address what some supporters of Donald Trump are calling “the Supreme Court’s ethics crisis” after the New York Times reported that flags flying at the Capitol were also displayed at the homes of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Aliton.
In their letter The senators asked to meet with Roberts “as soon as possible” and renewed their “call for an enforceable code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.”
That was before Alito himself sent letters This week, he refused to go to Capitol Hill on matters related to Trump or January 6.
Alito said the high standard for waivers was not met, noting that the flags were raised by his wife and that he had no involvement in the decisions.
As first reported by The New York Times, an upside-down U.S. flag was spotted at the Alito home in Virginia, and a flag associated with conservative Christians was spotted at a family vacation home in New Jersey.
Alito said in letters to lawmakers that “a reasonable person not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to influence the outcome of Supreme Court cases” would conclude that no waiver was required.
The court then adopted a new code of ethics in Novemberit has drawn much criticism because the justices themselves have the final say on how to apply it.