Republicans at the Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics mostly called it a partisan spectacle, but some did advise the court to update its ethics oversight. Sen. Lindsey Graham urged the court to 'take this moment to instill more public confidence.”
Partisan cannon fire dominated Senate Democrats’ high-profile hearing Tuesday on Supreme Court ethics, but behind the bluster, some Republicans acknowledged the high court needed to address a spate of controversies about justices’ conduct.
“It does appear there needs to be better oversight,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a previous chair of the panel, even as he dismissed the hearing as “political theater” and “relentless political battering.” But the hearing also amounted to a tacit admission from Durbin and Senate Democrats: Their best shot at getting justices to address simmering ethics concerns is to step up public pressure, given the tough environment for passing any legislation.
“This is an unseemly effort by the Democratic left to destroy the legitimacy of the Roberts court,” Graham declared. “There’s a very selective outrage here.” Congress stepping in to enforce ethical guidelines on the Supreme Court raises separation-of-powers questions, but witnesses were split on party lines on whether the legislative branch could constitutionally pass such a measure. Witnesses invited by Democrats to the hearing said Congress has broad authority to regulate ethics at the high court, while those invited by Republicans said such moves would intrude on the court’s independence.
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