Senate Judiciary Committee Seeks Subpoenas for Three Influential Conservatives in Investigation into Supreme Court Ethics

The Senate Judiciary Committee announced plans on Monday to seek subpoenas for three influential conservatives who have been a key focus of the panel’s investigation into Supreme Court ethics. Committee Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who chairs the panel’s subcommittee on federal courts and oversight, released a joint statement saying that previous inquiries sent to GOP donors Harlan Crow and Robin Arkley II, as well as judicial activist Leonard Leo, were “critical” to their work.

The senators said the committee had received refusals to comply or “limited information,” necessitating the need for subpoenas. The investigation follows a series of news reports about conservative justices accepting gifts and trips paid for by billionaires without disclosing them. These reports have raised questions about influence and ethics at the nation’s highest court.

One of the most notable cases in recent years was the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision to shield Gov. Scott Walker from a criminal investigation in July 2015. The court’s conservative majority halted the probe into what prosecutors suspected were campaign finance violations. The deciding vote was cast by Justice David Prosser, a conservative who had won reelection a few years earlier in a heavily contested race.

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation is ongoing and the subpoenas are expected to provide more information about the influence of wealthy donors on the Supreme Court. The committee has yet to comment on the outcome of their investigation.