The Senate Judiciary Committee sent a subpoena to conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo as part of a months-long inquiry into undisclosed gifts to Supreme Court justices and he promptly rejected it, calling the move “politically motivated,” reported the Washington Post.
“I am not capitulating to his lawless support of
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and the left’s dark money effort to silence and
cancel political opposition,” Leo said of Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the
committee’s chairman, in a statement to The Washington Post.
The committee voted along party lines on Nov. 30
to subpoena Leo and Texas billionaire Harlan Crow
following reports that Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito accepted — and did not disclose — free
luxury travel and gifts from Crow, Leo and conservative donor Robin Arkley II.
Crow did not receive a subpoena Thursday, his
spokesman Michael Zona told The Post.
In a statement to The Post, Durbin said sending a
subpoena to Leo was a necessary step.
“Since July 2023, Leonard Leo has responded to the
legitimate oversight requests of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a blanket
refusal to cooperate,” Durbin said. “His outright defiance left the Committee
with no other choice but to move forward with compulsory process. For that
reason, I have issued a subpoena to Mr. Leo.”
“Mr. Leo has played a central role in the ethics
crisis plaguing the Supreme Court and, unlike the other recipients of
information requests in this matter, he has done nothing but stonewall the
Committee. This subpoena is a direct result of Mr. Leo’s own actions and
choices,” Durbin continued.
The committee did not respond when asked for comment
on why only Leo received a subpoena. And when asked why so much time elapsed
between the vote and Leo’s subpoena being sent, Durbin’s office declined to
expand on his original statement.
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