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Leonard Leo and Harlan Crowe.
CNN
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The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to authorize subpoenas for conservatives Leonard Leo and Harlan Crowe in the Supreme Court ethics probe.
In a party-line vote, the Democratic-led committee approved requests for documents and records from Leo, the board co-chairman of the influential Federalist Society who has played a significant role in electing conservative Supreme Court justices, and Crowe, a mega-donor to the Republican Party whose largesse to Justice Clarence Thomas has raised questions over the years about why the conservative jurist sometimes failed to report the gifts.
The move is a significant escalation in the committee’s ongoing investigation and comes nearly three weeks after the court sought to address some of the concerns raised by congressional Democrats and others by announcing a new ethics code.
“Leonard Leo has continued to ignore our efforts and Harlan Crown has refused to provide a sufficient response,” Chairman Dick Durbin said at one point during Thursday’s meeting.
Despite the successful vote, Democrats still have obstacles. If Leo and Crow decide not to comply, the Senate will be forced to hold a vote to carry out the subpoenas, which may not win the necessary 60 votes in the closely divided chamber.
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“We believe that what you are doing is politically motivated. There is not an ounce of legislative purpose in these subpoenas,” said South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican in the group.
Durbin rejected the charge that the vote was illegitimate, arguing that the subpoenas were essential to preserving the integrity of the Supreme Court.
“The reputation and integrity of the Supreme Court is a very important element in our system of government,” he said. “The court has no power either to call out an army or to refuse an appropriation. Their reputation depends on their activities, especially their code of conduct, and we think this is an important issue for the court.
Leo criticized the committee’s vote in a statement and vowed not to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
“Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee were destroying the Supreme Court; now they are destroying the Senate. I will not cooperate with this illegal campaign of political retribution,” he said.
Crowe, in a statement from his office, similarly criticized the investigation as “illegal and biased” but said he “remains prepared to engage in good faith with the commission.”
“Mr. Crowe offered extensive information in response to the committee’s requests, despite his strong objections to its necessity and legality,” the statement said. “However, Mr. Crowe remains willing to discuss the matter further with the Committee.”
Democrats say the subpoenas are needed to better understand whether specific individuals and groups used undisclosed gifts to gain access to justice. But Republicans have characterized the effort as politically motivated.
Leo has so far refused to cooperate with the investigation, which sought information from him after a 2008 ProPublica report on fishing visited by Justice Samuel Alito. According to the publication, the conservative justice traveled on a private jet arranged in part by Leo, while his stay was provided for free by Robin Arkley II, another major conservative donor.
The committee asked Leo to provide information about the July trip, but in a scathing letter to his lawyer, Leo refused to comply. The panel revealed earlier this month that Arkley had submitted the requested materials, eliminating the need for a subpoena for the donor.
Meanwhile, Crowe, who ProPublica reported had provided Thomas with lavish trips and gifts for years — which mostly went undetected in financial disclosures to the justice system — tried to negotiate with the panel.
In response to the commission’s request, Crowe agreed to provide information covering only the last five years of his friendship with the stipulation that the commission would have to “forgo any further investigation.” Democrats on the committee rejected his proposal, calling it an insufficient “partial” compromise.
CNN’s Ariane de Vog, Lauren Fox and Christine Wilson contributed to this report.
