Without GOP support, Senate panel passes bill requiring Supreme Court to adopt code of ethics

Esteban:

Finally, someone is doing something about the gross corruption of the Supreme Court. It’s not enough, but at least it’s a start. And I think it’s quite remarkable that not a single Republican voted to set an ethics standard on the Supreme Court. Not surprisingly, however, since Republicans have been working since the Reagan administration to manipulate the American judiciary into favoring the super-rich who own and bankroll the Republicans.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) speaks during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on July 20, 2023.
Credit: Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call/Getty

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced legislation that would require the US Supreme Court to adopt an applicable code of ethics and adhere to stricter disclosure rules following a series of revelations about luxury travel and other gifts judges have received from right-wing billionaires.

Led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.), the Supreme Court Ethics, Challenge, and Transparency (SCERT) Act moved out of committee without any Republican support.

In comments ahead of Thursday’s vote, Whitehouse said he believes the “Supreme Court has been captured by special interests, just as a railroad commission in the 1890s might have been captured by railroad barons to decide things their way,” pointing to recent reports that “six…sixPolitically active right-wing billionaires have been paying household expenses, engaging in financial transactions, and providing huge secret travel and hospitality gifts for at least two judges.”

“We are here because the highest (…)