SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas is facing calls to testify about his relationship with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow — but legal and ethics experts believe such calls could ignite a 'DEFCON one' impasse between the judicial branch.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is facing calls to testify about his relationship with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow — but legal and ethics experts believe such calls could ignite a"DEFCON one" impasse between the judicial branch.
But Josh Blackman, a law professor at South Texas College of Law, told the Washington Examiner there are"very good reasons not to have a justice testify," suggesting it may form a precedent that would signal any future justices could be subject to congressional interrogation. Durbin's statement comes as Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse , who has introduced legislation to address ethics transparency on the high court, argues the governing body over federal courts, the Judicial Conference, should tap the Justice Department over potential ethics law infringements.
While Blackman and other law professors told the Washington Examiner there is nothing barring Congress from imposing new ethics guidelines on the justices, such as requirements to recuse from cases that have conflicts of interest, creating enforceable rules becomes a grueling consideration. And because the Supreme Court is tasked to decipher the legality of laws passed by Congress, any legal challenge to a novel law over high court ethics guidelines could also face judicial scrutiny.
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