Progressive committee calls for Supreme Court subpoenas after Feinstein’s return

A leading progressive group is calling on Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to issue subpoenas in investigations into Supreme Court corruption after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) returned to the Senate on Wednesday.

Durbin has said that “everything is on the table” when it comes to ethics reforms for the Supreme Court, following a string of reports about Justice Clarence Thomas and his relationship with billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. The reports, including allegations of unreported expensive trips and real estate deals, have put pressure on lawmakers to act.

But Durbin’s Judiciary Committee has been short one Democrat while Feinstein has been recovering from a shingles diagnosis in California, complicating any vote for a subpoena. After she returned to Washington this week, and the Senate on Wednesday, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee is calling on Durbin to take action.

“With Feinstein being the last vote needed, subpoenas must be issued,” the group said in an email to supporters. “Every day Clarence Thomas remains on the Court, it loses legitimacy.”

An accompanying petition for the Senate to “fully investigate” the Supreme Court, including issuing subpoenas, has received over 135,000 signatures.

Durbin invited Chief Justice John Roberts last month to testify in front of the committee, a request that Roberts denied. Durbin also held a hearing on ethics reforms for the court earlier this month.

Durbin has also requested that Crow produce a list of all the gifts of over $415 that he or his companies gave to Thomas.

But the return of Feinstein, which comes as she has faced intense pressure to resign from the chamber, means Durbin and Democrats on the committee will have an easier path to voting for subpoenas.

“It’s time for Sen. Durbin to turn up the heat,” the group said in the email.