The full report is linked at: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ze1Xu95W-NCafPNP-mWhyeX3rENdkyM9/view?usp=sharing
EXECUTIVE SUMMARYA. The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Investigation
On April 6, 2023, ProPublica published the first of several major exposés revealing extensive allegations of apparent ethical misconduct by sitting and former justices of the Supreme Court of the United States.1
Following the publication of this article, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, again renewed his call for the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of conduct2—a step he first advocated over 12 years ago on February 13, 2012, with then-Chairman Patrick Leahy and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, Al Franken, and Richard Blumenthal.3
Chair Durbin also directed his staff to begin this investigation. This investigation has involved Committee oversight requests, open-source research, and other investigative methods. The Committee made oversight requests to the following individuals, holding companies, and organizations:
Harlan Crow: May 8, 2023 Holding companies controlled by Mr. Crow that own his private jet, his superyacht (the Michaela Rose), and Topridge Camp (a 105-acre property located on Upper St. Regis Lake, New York)
- o HRZNAR LLC: May 8, 2023
- o Rochelle Marine LTD: May 8, 2023
- o Topridge Holdings, LLC: May 8: 2023
- Leonard Leo: July 11, 2023
- Paul Singer: July 11, 2023
- Robin Arkley, II: July 11, 2023
- The Supreme Court Historical Society: July 11, 2023
- David Sokol: September 13, 2023
- Paul Anthony Novelly: September 13, 2023
The Supreme Court Historical Society complied with the Committee’s requests4 and subsequently updated its productions.5 Mr. Novelly substantially complied with the Committee’s requests.6 Mr. Singer and Mr. Sokol made baseless arguments objecting to the Committee’s legitimate oversight authority, but nevertheless partially complied with the Committee’s requests.7 Mr. Leo and Mr. Arkley rejected the Committee’s requests in their entirety, relying on baseless arguments objecting to the Committee’s legitimate oversight authority.8 Mr. Crow, on behalf of himself and his holding companies, also rejected the Committee’s requests and publicly made similar objections, but privately proposed a limited production to the Committee, which the Committee found insufficient.9
Due to the noncompliance of Mr. Leo, Mr. Arkley, Mr. Crow, and Mr. Crow’s holding companies, Chair Durbin requested that the Committee provide him subpoena authority to compel their responses.10 The day before the Committee’s consideration of this subpoena authorization, Mr. Arkley complied with the Committee’s request and made a production Chair Durbin deemed sufficient.11 On November 30, the Senate Judiciary Committee authorized Chair Durbin to issue subpoenas to Mr. Leo, Mr. Crow, and Mr. Crow’s holding companies.12 On January 4, 2024, Chair Durbin provided Mr. Leo, Mr. Crow, and Mr. Crow’s holding companies a final opportunity to comply with the Committee’s requests before utilizing compulsory process.13 Following negotiations with representatives for Mr. Crow, Mr. Crow and his holding companies obliged and, following negotiation, made a production to the Committee on June 6, 2024, which Chair Durbin deemed sufficient.14 Mr. Leo continued to reject the Committee’s requests, prompting Chair Durbin to subpoena Mr. Leo for the requested documents and records on April 11, 2024.15 Mr. Leo failed to comply with the subpoena.
This report summarizes the findings of the Senate Judiciary Committee Majority Staff to date, including the information produced by the individuals, holding companies, and organizations detailed above. It also provides historical context for alleged misconduct by Supreme Court justices over the last several decades and explains the lack of adequate guardrails to prevent and police this misconduct.
This report does not include any direct testimony from Chief Justice John Roberts, whose Court has been embroiled in an ethical crisis of its own making for well over a decade. The impetus for the February 13, 2012 letter referenced above was the 2011 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary, which declared that “the Court has had no reason to adopt the [Judicial Conference’s] Code of Conduct through a formal resolution,”16 despite “[t]he ethical conduct of the Supreme Court [being] under growing scrutiny” in 2011 due to “[q]uestions[] raised over Justice Clarence Thomas’s appearances before Republican-backed groups and his acceptance of favors from a contributor in Texas, Harlan Crow.”17
Twelve years have passed, and the same problem persists with some of the same offenders. But the public is now far more aware of the extent of the largesse certain justices have received and how these justices and their billionaire benefactors continue to act with impunity. On April 10, 2023, every Senate Judiciary Committee Democrat joined Chair Durbin to request that Chief Justice Roberts begin an investigation into this ethical misconduct on behalf of the Court.18 On April 20, Chair Durbin asked Chief Justice Roberts to appear before the Committee to examine ways the Court could address this persistent problem.19 Chief Justice Roberts refused to appear before the Committee, and, rather than investigate the misconduct consuming the Court, produced a nonbinding “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices” that the justices purported to follow.20 Over a year and several additional exposés later, Chief Justice Roberts continues to refuse to act or to appear before Congress to take any responsibility for the impropriety he has let persist in the highest court in the land.
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What follows is an additional 900+ pages detailing 14 Key Findings, the report itself, appendices, Key Documents provided in response to committee demands/subpoenas, and financial disclosures submitted by the Justices themselves or their agents.
As to note numbers from the Executive Summary, they correspond to footnotes provided in said ES.
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