'There Has To Be Court Reform': Richard Blumenthal Assails Alito, Thomas Over Accepting Gifts

4 months ago

In remarks on the Senate floor last week, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) spoke about ethical standards for the Supreme Court.

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Transcript

00:00Let me first ask permission, if there's no objection, that Amanda Padgett, Senator

00:06Merkley's intern, be granted the privilege of the floor for the balance

00:09of the day. Second, I want to thank my colleagues, Senator Durbin and Senator

00:16Whitehouse. I've been proud to be part of their team working for the most minimal

00:23kind of ethical standards for the highest court in the land. Right now, that

00:33court has no enforceable code of conduct, unlike any other court in the federal

00:40system, unlike any other branch of government. It is so elemental as a

00:46matter of simple ethical conduct and appearance. The Supreme Court has

00:58squandered its almost mystical authority, its unique power in the federal

01:10government. In a sense, that power was not envisioned by the founders. The idea

01:18of judicial review came after the Constitution was written. We can thank

01:23Justice Marshall for that idea, that the Supreme Court can literally strike down

01:29what we do here. It's the most powerful branch of government, not the least

01:36dangerous, but the most powerful. And think of it for a moment. In a democratic

01:44republic, it's unelected, it has life tenure, nobody can tell a justice you're

01:53too old to do this stuff anymore. It is the most anti-democratic or undemocratic

02:02institution in a democratic system of government that you could possibly

02:07imagine. And so its power is really dependent on its adherence to standards

02:16of integrity that gain respect and credibility. It has no armies, it has no police

02:22force. People following those orders that it issues are because its wisdom and

02:32integrity have gained respect. This Supreme Court is different than any

02:39other we've seen. And it's not just two members of the Supreme Court, because it

02:46is the institution as a whole that's responsible. And it is the Chief Justice

02:49of the Court that is most responsible. And so I ask Chief Justice Roberts,

02:57please endorse this legislation. Not just for the sake of your legacy, we know

03:05Chief Justice Roberts cares about his legacy, but for the sake of the court.

03:12This court is doing things, justices are committing errors of extraordinary

03:19misjudgment, not to mention corrupt taking of gifts and trips and all the

03:27rest, that are, to use my colleagues words, blowing to smithereens the

03:37credibility and trust that this court needs. It needs it for its decisions to

03:43be followed and respected. What we're doing here is very simply saying the

03:51Supreme Court, you must have a code of conduct that's enforceable. We're not

03:56telling them what to do, we're not telling them to decide a case in one way

04:01or another, we're not interfering with their docket, we're not in any way

04:07affecting the substantive decisions of the United States Supreme Court. It is

04:11simply how they conduct themselves as public officials. Whether they take gifts,

04:18whether they go on trips paid by somebody else, whether they accept

04:22tuition grants, it's common sense. You don't need to be a law school graduate

04:34to understand it. In fact, this idea is more comprehensible and more impactful

04:40to the folks who go to work every day and nobody gives them college tuitions,

04:45nobody takes them on private jets to islands that cost thousands of dollars

04:56to reach. To the ordinary American, the everyday American, this legislation not

05:06only makes sense, I think most people assume there already is legislation like

05:11the one we're debating today. So I'm not going to belabor the specific provisions

05:19of this bill. I believe that we're going to have to go farther. I think there

05:27ought to be an inspector general for the courts as a part of the judicial

05:31conference, just like there is in other government entities. I think there has to

05:36be court reform that casts light on the shadow docket. There are a series of

05:43reforms and some are a lot more draconian in their scope, but this act is

05:55simple in requiring disclosure rules for gifts, travel, and income that are at

06:01least as strict as those we comply with here in Congress, a code of ethics,

06:08recusal, and Alito and Thomas should have recused themselves long ago from

06:15decisions involving Donald Trump. This comprehensive judicial ethics

06:23legislation is long overdue, and my biggest regret as I stand on the floor

06:30of the Senate today is that it is not bipartisan, because it should be. I've

06:37argued four cases in the United States Supreme Court. I've been a law clerk there.

06:40I have immense respect, unshakable respect, for the institution, the

06:48institution. I have reverence for what it reflects in America, and sadly the

07:00court has inflicted wounds on itself that will be difficult, and my fear is

07:08impossible to repair, but this measure will at least begin that process. Thank

07:17you, and I yield the floor.

'There Has To Be Court Reform': Richard Blumenthal Assails Alito, Thomas Over Accepting Gifts

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