Senate Judiciary Committee Authorizes Subpoenas for Conservative Billionaires Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo
The Senate Judiciary Committee authorized subpoenas Thursday for two influential conservatives with close ties to Supreme Court justices, moving forward with an investigation into their personal conduct and potential conflicts of interest.
The subpoenas order billionaire donor Harlan Crow and long-time judicial activist Leonard Leo to share records that document their financial and social connections to conservative Supreme Court justices.
The motion to authorize the subpoenas passed 11-0. All of the Republican senators on the committee staged a walkout in opposition to the subpoenas before the vote.
“Leonard Leo continues to ignore our efforts, and Harlan Crow has refused to provide a sufficient response,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Judiciary Committee.
The subpoenas came as the Supreme Court released its first-ever “code of conduct” earlier this month, which outlines ethics guidelines that justices have to adhere to, following a series of high-profile ProPublica investigations.
All nine justices endorsed the new code. But, Democratic lawmakers have questioned its effectiveness, pointing to the lack of an enforcement mechanism.
During the meeting, Durbin said a congressional investigation remains “appropriate and necessary” given the shortcomings of the new code, and the need for a stronger ethics regime at the highest court in the land.
Shortly before the committee voted on the subpoenas Thursday, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., endorsed the effort from the Senate floor.
“The hypocrisy is undeniable, and the American people see right through it. Having these very same billionaires who are pushing cases through the court have the ability to travel in jets and go to resorts and buy them gifts. It’s just outrageous,” Schumer said.
But Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., the committee’s ranking member, said the effort was “political theater” and the subpoenas are “a bunch of garbage.”
If there were concerns about ethics, the committee should,
