WASHINGTON – Senate Democrats are stepping up their attempts to get information from Harlan Crow about the luxury travel and other gifts he gave to Justice Clarence Thomas over the years, while the Dallas real estate magnate kept his position that it is none of their business.
Through his attorney, Crow accused the senators of pursuing a partisan agenda and lectured them on the proper separation of powers.
That is not good for Senate Judiciary Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, DR.I.
It’s a “dangerous, undemocratic argument” to say that any individual can withhold information from Congress by saying it’s in the Supreme Court’s best interest to do so, they said Tuesday in a sharp public response.
The senators are seeking information from Crow as they press the nation’s highest court to adopt a code of ethics similar to the one binding lower federal courts.
Crow challenges that motivation as any kind of justification to enter his records.
“Congress does not have the power to impose standards of conduct on the Supreme Court,” his attorney, Michael Bopp, wrote to the committee this week, in a letter obtained by The Dallas Morning News. “Therefore it cannot conduct an investigation for the purpose of helping to establish such standards. The Committee may also not pursue an investigation for the purpose of targeting and revealing private facts about an individual.
Legislative intent
Crow’s attorney argued that Congress had not demonstrated a valid legislative intent to seek information related to the leadership of a separate branch of government.
Durbin and Whitehouse rejected that argument and issued a clear threat to escalate the fight.
“Let’s be clear: Harlan Crow is not calling the shots here. He is not a branch – nor even a member – of the government and is not entitled to the protections and privileges of one,” they said. “The Senate Judiciary Committee has clearly established the oversight and legislative authority to investigate and address the ethical crisis facing the Court. All options are on the table moving forward.”
Those options could include subpoenas as Senate Democrats continue to dig into revelations from ProPublica that Crow gave Thomas undisclosed luxury trips, bought properties in Georgia from the justice, and paid the tuition of private school for a grandson he is raising.
Republicans, including Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, criticized the treatment of Thomas and Crow as a smear job.
Durbin and Whitehouse said they were interested in “the full extent of the gifts, travel, and lodging provided by Mr. Crow and certain companies that hold Justice Thomas and any other Supreme Court Justices, as well as information about who else has an interest before the Supreme Court May have received private, undisclosed access to Justice through this magnitude. “
Crow’s attorney called on Democrats to drop their questioning and respect individual privacy.
“We respectfully request that the Committee Majority reconsider the partisan course it has followed, which has no place under our Constitution,” he wrote.
Amidst the defiant language, the lawyer added a more conciliatory note that he “welcomes a discussion” with the assistants of the committee.
But Durbin and Whitehouse won’t budge on a staff-level discussion.
Crow also pushed an inquiry into the Senate Finance Committee dealing with the income tax implications of gifts.
The chairman of that committee, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., recently floated the idea of seeking a subpoena to force answers from Crow.
Any subpoenas could be tied to court challenges where arguments advanced by Crow’s attorneys would be central.
Democrats may also pursue legislation asking the Supreme Court to adopt a binding set of ethics rules, although such a measure appears unlikely to pass in the current Congress.
“One would think that the Chief Justice [John] Roberts and the other Justices want to make a clean break from this sordid episode,” Durbin and Whitehouse said. “They could do it now, but they didn’t. If the Court won’t act, Congress will. The highest court in the land must have no minimum standards of conduct.”