Senate should show 'backbone' and enforce subpoenas of Clarence Thomas’ backers: columnist

10 February 2024

It's been more than two months since the Senate Judiciary Committee issued subpoenas to two wealthy conservative donors involved in arranging lavish gifts for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. One columnist is arguing that its time for Democrats to play hardball.

Republican billionaire Harlan Crow and Federalist Society board chairman Leonard Leo have been the subjects of multiple investigative reports delving into their sponsorship of Thomas' luxurious lifestyle. Many of their gifts to the far-right jurist have gone unreported in federally mandated financial disclosure forms. In November, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee — which is tasked with oversight of federal courts — issued subpoenas to Crow and Leo while Republicans walked out in protest.

In a recent essay for the American Prospect, Max Moran — a senior fellow at anti-corruption watchdog group the Revolving Door Project — wrote that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), who chairs the committee, needs to show "backbone" and take action to enforce the subpoenas, lest they become just "stern words on fancy pieces of paper."

"[T]he Supreme Court’s current ethics scandals are precisely the type of situation for which congressional subpoenas exist," Moran wrote. "This is not a political 'fishing expedition' intended to humiliate political enemies, like the [House Un-American Activities Committee] hearings; it is a quest for confirmation and details about information already uncovered by investigative reporters, which is directly related to the rulings of the federal judiciary."

Moran wrote that enforcing those subpoenas could be done in several ways: First, Democrats could petition federal courts at the district and appellate levels for a civil injunction, which would compel Crow and Leo to hand over documents and evidence to investigators. They could also refer Crow and Leo to the Department of Justice with the blessing from either Vice President Kamala Harris or Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-Washington). The DOJ could then criminally prosecute them under for non-compliance — potentially leading to fines and imprisonment.

Crow and Leo could also be held in contempt by the committee. While Moran points out that the question of whether a committee has the power to hold officials in contempt is still debated by some experts, he noted that, ironically, Justice Thomas sided with previous arguments that congressional committees indeed had that authority.

"Uncovering Crow’s and Leo’s full relationships with the Court is precisely the sort of scenario for which Congress has subpoena powers in the first place. As of now, these plutocrats have been able to scoff at the will of elected leaders," Moran wrote. "Durbin’s actions, or lack thereof, will inform whether history remembers this Congress as stepping up or shrugging off one of the greatest threats to the American legal system in our lifetimes."

Click here to read Moran's column in its entirety.

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