End Citizens United (ECU) // Let America Vote (LAV) Action Fund President Tiffany Muller issued the following statement in response to the new bombshell ProPublica report on Justice Alito:
“Justice Alito’s relationship with billionaire mega-donor Paul Singer is improper and downright shameful. The mere existence of such a relationship undermines the public’s trust and confidence in the Supreme Court, but what is even more alarming is the concrete evidence proving the corruption within the ranks of the Justices.
“These scandals affirm Americans’ fears about impartiality and fairness. The fundamental question arises: Is justice truly blind, or is it simply a commodity to be bought and sold by those with deep pockets? Justices Alito and Thomas have put a price tag on it.
“These scandals should serve as a wake-up call for Congress to implement and enforce a strict code of ethics. Anything short of this will empower the extremist conservative Justices to continue to engage in this reprehensible behavior.”
End Citizen United // Let America Vote Action Fund supports two pieces of legislation that would tackle the ethics problems plaguing the court: the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act and the DISCLOSE Act. These bills will offer more transparency into the justices’ outside activities to identify any potential conflicts of interests, and accountability when they run afoul of the law.
Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act:
-
Creates and publishes a code of conduct and develops a process for enforcing said code of conduct
-
Requires a transparent process for the public to submit ethics complaints against the justices
-
Requires SCOTUS to adopt and enforce disclosure rules that are at least as rigorous as the House and Senate disclosure rules
-
Creates new recusal requirements governing gifts, income, or reimbursements given to judges
-
Requires the Federal Judicial Center to study and report to Congress every two years on the extent to which the judiciary is complying with recusal requirements
-
Exposes dark money influence on Supreme Court nominations
-
Requires organizations–including super PACs and 501(c)(4) dark money groups–that spend money on judicial nominations to disclose donors who spend $10,000 or more during an election cycle
-
Allows voters to know the wealthy donors and special interests spending millions to influence the direction of the Supreme Court
###