Senate Democrats press Roberts on Alito recusals

Ten Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, led by chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), implored Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a letter Thursday to ensure Justice Samuel Alito will recuse himself from future cases pertaining to legislation regulating the high court.

The senators’ request hinged on an interview Alito gave to the Wall Street Journal last week, where he opined that the U.S. Constitution does not give Congress the authority to regulate the Court, “period.”

“Congress did not create the Supreme Court,” Alito said of efforts to legislate ethics regulations. “I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it.”

The Democratic senators — all of the Judiciary Committee’s majority members except Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) — rebuffed Alito’s perspective as “plainly incorrect” and raised concern that he “publicly prejudged” the issues, which could land before the Court.

They referred back to testimony Alito gave during his 2006 confirmation hearing, where he said he “wouldn’t want to prejudge any constitutional question that might be presented to me.”

“And yet, we now have Justice Alito publicly remarking on the constitutionality of pending legislation — comments that unquestionably engender doubt that he could fairly discharge his duties should this question come before the Court,” the senators wrote.

The request for Roberts to take “appropriate steps” to ensure Alito recuses himself on any cases related to Court regulation comes amid increased scrutiny of the Supreme Court justices’ ethics.

“Since 2011, you have argued that the Supreme Court can police its own ethical conduct,” the senators wrote to Roberts. “Yet, this year has been marked by revelation after revelation of justices receiving lavish gifts that they failed to disclose as required by law or otherwise using their offices and taxpayer-funded resources for personal gain.”

Justices across the ideological spectrum have come under fire for possible ethical lapses.

ProPublica reported earlier this year that Alito took an undisclosed Alaskan fishing trip in 2008 and that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted undisclosed luxury trips from a Republican megadonor.

The Associated Press reported last month that Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s staff pushed colleges and a library to buy copies of her book when she was set to speak at their sponsored events. The outlet also reported several instances where schools looked to invite major donors to gatherings so they could mingle with a justice while there.

In February, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act, which would require justices to adopt a code of conduct and create a transparent process for the public to submit ethics complaints.

The bill advanced last month after a markup session of more than three hours. Every Democratic member of the committee voted for the reforms, while every Republican voted against them.

“The Court is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making, yet its only response has been a weak statement on ethics that Justice Alito has apparently ignored,” the senators wrote to Roberts on Thursday.