Overhaul of Supreme Court ethics runs into GOP opposition

WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats promised Tuesday to pursue stronger ethics rules for the Supreme Court in the wake of reports that Justice Clarence Thomas participated in luxury vacations and a real estate deal with a top GOP donor. “The Supreme Court could step up and fix this themselves,” Durbin said as he opened the hearing. While the rules are not new, the statement provided by Roberts said that the undersigned justices “today reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe in carrying out their responsibilities as Members of the Supreme Court of the United States.” Instead of Roberts, senators heard testimony from five legal and ethics experts, including a former attorney general, Michael Mukasey, who served under President George W. Bush. “There is no room to debate that the Supreme Court has the weakest ethics rules in federal government,” Payne said. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., who is leading those legislative efforts, said “the court has conclusively proven that it cannot police itself.” “Until there is an honest ethics process at the Supreme Court, these messes will continue,” Whitehouse said.