The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform Tuesday, following recent reports of five scandals that prompted criticism of the justices' ethical practices.
It will proceed without the participation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who declined an invitation to testify.
It comes after lawmakers last week introduced a bipartisan bill that would require the Supreme Court to create a code of conduct for its justices.
Calls for an ethics code have intensified after the recent reports about the practices of justices underlined how few reporting requirements are in place and how compliance is often left to the justices.
What Scandals Have Justices Faced?
Scandal 1: Clarence Thomas' luxury trips
A ProPublica investigation in early April revealed Justice Clarence Thomas had long accepted luxury trips nearly every year from Harlan Crow, a Republican megadonor, without reporting them on financial disclosure forms.
Thomas issued a statement saying he was not required to disclose the trips. "Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable," he said.
Scandal 2: Clarence Thomas' $100,000 property deal
ProPublica then revealed that Crow had bought three properties belonging to Thomas and his family in a deal worth more than $100,000 that Thomas never disclosed.
Scandal 3: Clarence Thomas and 2020 election cases
Thomas also faced criticism after it was revealed that he had not recused himself from cases related to the 2020 election even though his wife, Virginia Thomas, had reached out to the Trump White House and lawmakers, urging them to overturn election results.
Scandal 4: Neil Gorsuch's property sale
Politico last week reported that Justice Neil Gorsuch sold a property he co-owned shortly after becoming a justice.
He disclosed the sale, but omitted that the property was sold to the chief executive of Greenberg Traurig, one the country's biggest law firms. Greenberg Traurig frequently has cases before the high court.
Scandal 5: John Roberts' wife working as a legal recruiter
Earlier this year, questions were also raised about whether Roberts' wife's work as a legal recruiter raised ethics concerns for the chief justice. Jane Roberts was reportedly paid millions of dollars for placing lawyers at firms, including some with business before the Supreme Court.
Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee's chair, said there had been a "steady stream of revelations" regarding Supreme Court justices "falling short of ethical standards expected of other federal judges" in a letter inviting Roberts to testify before the committee on Tuesday.
Roberts declined the invitation, writing that testimony "before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence."
The letter to Durbin was accompanied by a "Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices" signed by all nine justices describing the ethical rules they follow about travel, gifts and outside income.
The statement said the justices "today reaffirm and restate foundational ethics principles and practices to which they subscribe in carrying out their responsibilities as Members of the Supreme Court of the United States."
Durbin said he was surprised because the response from the court "suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious."
In a statement, he said he would proceed with the hearing, which will "review common sense proposals" to hold Supreme Court justices more accountable to ethics guidelines.
In another letter to Roberts dated April 27, Durbin said it was "noteworthy that no Justice will speak to the American people after numerous revelations have called the Court's ethical standards into question, even though sitting Justices have testified before Senate or House Committees on at least 92 occasions since 1960."
A day earlier, Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, introduced legislation that would require the Supreme Court to create a code of conduct and appoint an official to oversee potential conflicts and public complaints.
"The American public's confidence in the Supreme Court is at an all-time-low. Americans have made clear their concerns with the transparency—or lack thereof—coming from the Supreme Court and its justices," Murkowski said in a statement.
"The Supreme Court must demonstrate independence and fairness as they rule on the laws of the land—and any cracks in the public's confidence will have damaging repercussions for the state of our democracy."
Newsweek has contacted a Supreme Court spokesperson for comment via email.
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