I’ve been listening to Senator Dick Blumenthal of CT calling for “something” to be done about the latest example of SCOTUS corruption and partisan hackery: Justice Alito and his love of insurrectionists. Actually, Blumenthal wants Democrats to make the SCOTUS an issue this fall, and he did talk about an “ethics rules” for the SCOTUS. Blumenthal was not very aggressive though, but he looks like a rampaging rabid tiger compared to one real big problem for Senate Democrats to ever confront the runaway SCOTUS: Judiciary Committe Chairman Dick Durbin of IL. What did Durbin do about the latest outrage out of Alito and his partisan buddies on the SCOTUS? He wants Alito to recuse himself from any court cases dealing with Donald Trump and Jan 6th.
That’s it.
Here is what our great leader Senator Dick Durbin said:
“Flying an upside-down American flag—a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement—clearly creates the appearance of bias,” Durbin said to The Hill. “Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President’s immunity in U.S. v. Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering.”…
“The Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the Court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust,” Durbin said. “Supreme Court justices should be held to the highest ethical standards, not the lowest.”
Elie Mystal has called Senate Democrats “feckless” over the SCOTUS corruption, and I agree with him. Durbin has always stressed that he wants the Judiciary Committe to be — wait for it — “bipartisan.” He stated this shit after McConnell and Trump packed the court with partisan hacks in robes. And Durbin still insists on the old “blue slips” when it comes to federal judges, which Republicans have used to block Biden appointments to certain open judgeships positions. But the kicker on all of this is that Durbin REFUSES to use his subpoena power to investigate Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo.
The senator from Illinois was slow to respond to recent ethics scandals on the Supreme Court, despite having subpoena power. In November, Durbin backed off a vote to subpoena Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, two major conservative donors connected to Justices Alito and Clarence Thomas.
Mystal makes a critical point when it comes to Senate Democrats. Because they REFUSE to do anything at all about the corruption at the court, Alito and Thomas feel NO PRESSURE to curtail their corrupt actions! Would you trim your sails if you had a lifetime appointment and a legislative body that might check you does nothing?