Dems Weaponize SCOTUS Ethics Hearing, Threaten Security Funding

On Tuesday, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) accused their Democrat colleagues of threatening to cut $10 million in funding for Supreme Court security unless the justices comply with their demands. The accusations came during a Democrat-led “Supreme Court Ethics Reform” hearing, which Republicans argue is a sham aimed at undermining conservative justices and the institution itself.

The Democrat Senators’ proposal involves a new ethical code with a monitor answerable to Congress. They threatened to withhold $10 million unless Chief Justice John Roberts notifies the Committee on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress that the Supreme Court has implemented their “public code of ethics for justices of the Court.” Republicans have criticized this plan as unconstitutional and believe it would lead to political attacks on conservative justices for intimidation purposes.

Hawley expressed his concerns during the hearing, stating, “We had an assassin come to the home of Justice Brett Kavanaugh and try to murder him. We have had credible threats on the lives of other justices. And now members of this body say, ‘We will deny you security for you, your families, your children unless you do what we want.'”

Democrats have a history of targeting Republican-nominated Supreme Court justices. Recent hit pieces have called into question the integrity of conservative-nominated justices, prompting leftist legislators on the Senate Judiciary Committee to take action. Democrats brought in congressional witnesses such as Kedric Payne, who works for a legal group that asserts the Supreme Court is “a threat to our democracy.”

Ranking Member Lindsey Graham (R-SC) criticized the Democrats’ efforts, saying, “This is not about trying to upgrade the ability of the court to be more transparent, but an effort to destroy the legitimacy of this current conservative court.” Republican Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) added that Democrats are attempting to “destroy the court’s credibility and intimidate the Republican-appointed justices and their families.”

Democrats argue that the Supreme Court’s current ethical framework is inadequate. Still, Republicans counter that decisions about Supreme Court ethics are not for Congress to decide. As former Attorney General Michael Mukasey noted during the hearing, the Supreme Court is “solely responsible for its financial disclosure and ethics rules.”

While Democrats claim low trust in the judiciary, they have not acknowledged their role in this loss of faith. As recently as 2022, Biden-nominated Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson had to revise her financial disclosures. Other liberal justices have also faced scrutiny for their financial dealings. However, these actions have been quickly accepted by Democrats and the corporate press as routine regarding conservative-nominated justices.

As Democrats continue their efforts to delegitimize the Supreme Court, it is crucial to recognize that this is not about ethics but rather an attempt to weaken an institution they no longer deem useful to their progressive plans to fundamentally transform America into a socialist empire with a high court answerable to globalist money and intimidation.