Dick Durbin has already abandoned calling Clarence Thomas to justify taking secret special gifts
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, confessed that he invited Chief Justice John Roberts to answer questions about the lack of ethics in the Supreme Court because he didn't think Clarence Thomas would come to the Senate.
Speaking to "Meet the Press" on Sunday, Durbin explained, “I think I know what would happen to that invitation. It would be ignored."
Generally, when lawmakers want someone to testify before their committee, they issue a subpoena to command them there. Durbin has tried a suggestion of coming to answer questions. It could be why neither Thomas nor Roberts is likely to appear.
Durbin said that Roberts' answer to questions would be "voluntary." One of the main questions that have surfaced over the past few years amid financial scandals and political alliances for the justices is that Roberts' court has no code of ethics. Generally, each chief justice crafts his or her own code of ethics, but Roberts has been in the position for nearly 20 years without creating one.
“Why this Supreme Court, these nine justices, believe they are exempt from the basic standards of disclosure, I cannot explain. And I think [the] chief justice should appear before our committee and explain something or explain the changes that he’s going to make,” he said.
The question is coming up because Thomas has been caught taking gifts that he's not declaring on his financial disclosure forms. Over the past several years, he's claimed that despite being a Supreme Court justice, one of the top officials in the country, he doesn't understand the forms.
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) argued that the executive and legislative branches should be flexing their oversight muscle. Each branch is subject to checks and balances from the other. Durbin could play nice with his request, but once it's ignored, a subpoena might be necessary.
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