United For Democracy Reiterates Call for Senate Subpoenas of Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow, Full-Scale Investigation into SCOTUS Corruption and Influence-Peddling
Washington, DC – Today, United for Democracy released the following statement reiterating their call for Senate and Senate Judiciary Committee leadership to issue subpoenas as part of a full-scale investigation with public hearings into the influence that extreme MAGA conservatives have on this Supreme Court majority. This call for action in the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden continues to dig into potential tax issues by Justice Thomas’ wealthy benefactor, Harlan Crow.
“Seventy-five days ago Chairman Durbin secured authorization to subpoena Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow and force them to release details about their efforts to influence Supreme Court Justices – and we are urging him and Leader Schumer to exercise that power as quickly as possible,” said Stasha Rhodes, Campaign Director of United For Democracy. “This broken and captured Supreme Court has already hurt millions of Americans with their extreme and unprecedented rulings and, with key cases on the docket concerning ballot access for President Trump, whether or not federal agencies will be able to protect Americans from powerful special interests, and more – there is too much at stake to continue delaying. It’s past time for this Court to be held accountable by Congress for their relentless power grabs and the impact they’re having on our workers, families, communities, and democracy.”
In January, United for Democracy led a letter with Court Accountability to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, signed by over 85 advocacy organizations representing labor, reproductive freedom, environmental activists, and more calling on them to ramp up efforts to combat court corruption and issue subpoenas that the Judiciary Committee approved last year to Leonard Leo and Harlan Crow. In the letter, the groups called on Senate leaders to “promptly issue the subpoenas it authorized and pursue their enforcement, including through criminal contempt referrals if necessary” and to follow up with a “coordinated set of hearings and investigative steps to shine a public light and inform its legislative agenda.”
Recent polling shows strong support for accountability and code of ethics for SCOTUS justices