Staff Reports
Conservative legal activist Leonard Leo said he will not follow a subpoena from Senate Democrats who want information about his connections with some Supreme Court justices.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted in November to issue a subpoena to Mr. Leo about his ties to conservative Supreme Court justices, focusing on Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr.
Conservative activist linked to Justice Thomas rejects Democrats' 'politically motivated' subpoena https://t.co/hRI3hrEFPh
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) April 12, 2024
“Today, I got an unlawful and politically motivated subpoena from U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin. I am not going along with his lawless support of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the left’s dark money effort to silence and cancel political opposition,” Mr. Leo said.
Mr. Whitehouse, Rhode Island Democrat, has criticized Mr. Leo’s conservative activism and support of judicial advocacy groups.
Mr. Leo’s lawyer, David Rivkin, also sent a letter to Mr. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, to say that the subpoena seeks unlawful personal information and goes against the First Amendment.
Senate Democrats have worked to set up a code of ethics for the Supreme Court after reports of Justice Thomas not revealing expensive vacations and gifts paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. The court released its first code of conduct in November.
Mr. Crow, who answered some of the committee’s questions voluntarily, did not get a subpoena.
Mr. Durbin rejected the court’s self-imposed code, saying it needed an enforcement mechanism.
He previously supported the subpoenas as “key pieces” to create legislation for a high court ethics code.
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, has said that Democrats can’t add more justices to the conservative-leaning Supreme Court, so they are trying to attack the bench in other ways.
He also said the subpoena is weak because Democrats don’t have the 60 votes needed to enforce it. The Democrat-run chamber is split 51-49.
Democrats’ focus on Mr. Crow and Mr. Leo comes from news reports last year about Justice Thomas’ and other justices’ alleged conflicts of interest.
In May, the committee’s Democrats asked Mr. Crow to give detailed information about his friendship with Justice Thomas. Mr. Crow refused to answer some of the inquiries, with his lawyer arguing it went beyond the separation of powers.
The Democrats said Mr. Leo refused to give them any information.
Some of the alleged conflicts of interest included:
• Reports that said Mr. Crow paid $150,000 for private school fees for Justice Thomas’ great-nephew, whom the justice raised at the age of 6.
• Justice Thomas did not disclose that he went on multiple luxury trips with Mr. Crow and that Mr. Crow bought the home of Justice Thomas’ mother even though she continued to live there.
• A news report found a possible mistake on the justice’s financial disclosure related to family real estate income listed as Ginger Ltd. Partnership instead of Ginger Holdings LLC.
• The New York Times detailed how Justice Thomas and other Republican appointees received salaries to teach courses at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Justice Thomas has defended his friendship with Mr. Crow and said he talked with colleagues about reporting requirements and didn’t go against any rules.
At the time, the high court did not have a mandatory code of ethics, although lower court judges are told to stay away from improper behavior or doing business with anyone who might come before the bench.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the high court has usually followed the Judicial Conferences’ Code of Ethics that are required for lower courts — but not the Supreme Court — since 1991.
Earlier in November, Justice Roberts — joined by the court ‘s other justices — released a code of conduct the court would follow.
