Senate Democrats vow to subpoena key Thomas and Alito allies over Supreme Court ethics lapses

WASHINGTON − Senate Democrats on Monday significantly ramped up a probe into a series of ethics scandals swirling around the Supreme Court, announcing that they would vote to subpoena several connected donors who either had paid for lavish travel accepted by the justices or had been present on those trips.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of that committee and an outspoken critic of the Supreme Court, said that the individuals who would be the subject of those subpoenas either refused to answer questions or offered limited information that fell short of the committee's requests.

Durbin said the committee would target Harlan Crow, who has paid for trips accepted by Justice Clarence Thomas, and who also purchased property partly owned by Thomas that the justice did not initially note on financial disclosure forms. Durbin also mentioned Robin Arkley, the owner of a mortgage company who hosted Justice Samuel Alito for a fishing trip in Alaska in 2008 and Leonard Leo, a well-connected conservative legal advocate who has appeared at many of the trips taken by the justices.

The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to vote on the subpoenas as soon as next week.

"The Supreme Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making," Durbin and Whitehouse said in a statement. “The chief justice could fix this problem today and adopt a binding code of conduct. As long as he refuses to act, the Judiciary Committee will."

In a statement attributed to his office, Crow said it was "disappointing that one party on the committee would choose to pursue an unnecessary, partisan, and politically motivated subpoena instead of simply reciprocating" his effort to find a compromise on providing the information. "It’s clear this is nothing more than a stunt aimed at undermining a sitting Supreme Court justice for ideological and political purposes," the statement read.

Leo said in a statement he would "not bow to the vile and disgusting liberal McCarthyism that seeks to destroy the Supreme Court simply because it follows the Constitution rather than their political agenda."

Arkley could not immediately be reached for comment.

The subpoenas would arrive following a series of stories this year detailing luxury travel, including private jet travel, and other gifts to some of the justices. That included trips on Crow's yacht and at a property he owns in the Adirondacks. Thomas and Alito have sought to brush aside the criticism, arguing that the travel fell under what they said was a "hospitality" exemption to the court's disclosure rules.

Meanwhile, several justices spoke out over the summer and in recent weeks suggesting that the Supreme Court might be moving toward ethics reform on its own. Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a member of the court's conservative wing, said she believed a code of ethics would be a "good idea." In early September, Justice Brett Kavanaugh signaled that the Supreme Court might take steps "soon" to address ethics scandals.

Kavanaugh, another member of the court's conservative majority, said he was "hopeful" there would be "concrete steps taken soon on that."

The committee approved a bill in July that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of ethics but the legislation has no Republican support and is unlikely to advance in the current Congress.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate Dems vow to issue subpoenas over Thomas, Alito luxury travel