Page 3 - Judicial Conference Code News Today

Republicans are rallying to defend Justice Clarence Thomas against a barrage of ethics allegations, saying they are a poorly veiled attempt to delegitimize the Supreme Court and silence a prominent Black conservative.

Republican senators tore into a push by Democrats Tuesday for new ethics standards for the Supreme Court, saying it was a political assault aimed at delegitimizing the conservative-leaning Roberts court.

Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee are pushing back against Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.'s decision not to testify next week during a hearing on ethics for the high court.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. rejected an invitation by Senate Democrats to testify about the high court's ethics next week. In a six-page letter, he said chief justice testimony is exceedingly rare.

With revelations that Thomas secretly accepted gifts from a conservative billionaire for decades, Illinois Senator Dick Durbin has called on Chief Justice John Roberts to investigate misconduct in the court.

By backing the implementation of ethics reforms already practiced in the lower courts instead of more radical solutions, liberals can make a case with which conservatives might agree.