[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 96 (Wednesday, June 5, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S3964]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           U.S. Supreme Court

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, the Supreme Court term is about to end, 
which means it is time for Democrats and their media allies to bully 
and harass the Justices. The most recent example of this is the risible 
attack leveled against Justice Alito for his wife's flags.
  I have nothing to say about those attacks themselves because they are 
so profoundly unserious, but I do have an observation about how some of 
the attacks have been leveled.
  Three of our colleagues have taken it upon themselves to write to the 
Chief Justice and demand Justice Alito's recusal in cases. One went so 
far as to tell the Chief that he should strip Justices Alito and Thomas 
of their ability to write majority opinions unless they recuse from the 
cases liberals don't want them hearing.
  This goes beyond the standard disgraceful bullying my Democratic 
colleagues have perfected. Recusal is a judicial act.
  These Senators are telling the Chief Justice, privately, to change 
the course of pending litigation. This is known as ex parte 
communication, and it is frowned upon by the ABA's Model Rules of 
Professional Conduct.
  This matters because at least two of these colleagues of ours--the 
junior Senator from Rhode Island and the senior Senator from 
Connecticut--seem to be members of the Supreme Court Bar. If so, they 
are, therefore, potentially engaging in unethical professional conduct 
before the Court.
  They may be under the mistaken impression that their persistent 
attempts to threaten the Federal courts are a permissible use of their 
legislative office, but they are officers of the Court and bound by a 
different set of rules than a mere Senator. These rules provide for 
discipline against those who engage in ``conduct unbecoming'' an 
officer of the Court.
  I might suggest to our colleagues that unethical ex parte 
communications seeking to change the course of pending litigation is 
such conduct and that the Court should take any remedial action it 
feels to be appropriate.
  The legal profession is in distress. Unethical behavior by attorneys 
serving political causes, unfortunately, knows no party or faction. It 
is up to the legal profession to police itself, and in the end, this 
means that courts, including the Supreme Court, must police their 
officers. We don't need to appeal to heaven to fix this problem, just 
to the Supreme Court's power to police the ethical practice of law 
among the members of its bar.