Democratic senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee ended their meeting early without casting a vote on whether or not to issue subpoenas to two conservatives who had arranged gifts and luxury travel for the Supreme Court justices.
The Democrats’ chairman, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, gaveled out after Republicans made it clear they would call for subpoena votes on Democrats and others in response to the Democrats’ plans to subpoena Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and conservative activist Leonard Leo. South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, the committee’s ranking Republican, issued a similar warning.
Durbin, anticipating hours of discussion, gaveled the meeting to a close. After the meeting, he issued a statement explaining that “scheduling issues” prevented them from concluding their discussion. He also said that they would keep trying to get subpoenas authorized in the future. The Supreme Court, he continued, must not “have the lowest ethical standards.”
The Democrats want to subpoena Leo and Crow for their alleged involvement in planning and paying for the Supreme Court justice’s extravagant trip. The Supreme Court’s ethical practices are being examined as part of a larger probe.
Three of the nine justices have expressed support for the committee’s efforts to establish the court’s ethics code.
