11 months ago
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Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin introduced his motion Thursday to subpoena Harlan Crow, Leonard Leo, and Robin Arkley II for refusing to cooperate with the committee’s request for information in its Supreme Court ethics investigation. Durbin and committee member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, announced earlier this week that they would have a committee vote on issuing the subpoenas in the coming days.
According to numerous press reports, Crow and Arkley have been involved in providing expensive gifts and trips to Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, with Leo greasing the skids for their access to the justices. “For many months, the Committee has sought the voluntary cooperation of individuals and organizations who were reportedly involved in these incidents,” Durbin said. “While several have cooperated with the Committee’s investigation, Leonard Leo and Robin Arkley have outright stonewalled us. … Harlan Crow initially claimed he was willing to engage with the Committee, but he ultimately refused to negotiate beyond a limited offer that was completely insufficient.”
Republicans, predictably, threw a hissy fit and vowed retaliation. "None of us will support that," Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina promised. They don’t need to: Democrats have a majority of members on the committee and can do it without them. “Sen. [Chuck] Grassley and I are working on subpoenas of our own,” Graham continued. Great. But Republicans don’t have the votes in committee to pass them.
