Roberts didn’t even personally address the lawmakers. Supreme Court Legal Counsel Ethan Torrey, writing on behalf of Roberts, replied instead, saying simply that, “The Chief Justice has asked me to acknowledge your letter dated June 27, 2023, and to thank you very much for bringing your concerns about these important matters to his attention.”

  • Lawmakers like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) and legal experts have since called for Roberts to face a subpoena that would force him to answer for Supreme Court corruption.

    Stop talking about it and do it. Each day the issue goes unaddressed, the public’s confidence in the court decays. We’re at the point where in a normal political arena, there would already be an impeachment investigation in play. Roberts is betting on either Trump winning or having a divided legislature in 2024 so that everything can be swept under the rug.

    •  appel   ( @appel@lemmy.ml ) 
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      Dems are currently in the minority in an extremely partisan House, unfortunately, so AOC can’t do much other than applying public pressure.

      ETA: vote.

      • The House can’t do much in any case. The real power here is with the Judiciary Committee in the Senate. Everything flows through them as far as the court goes. Remember, there is a very small majority in the Senate and it is reflected in Committee membership.

  • I wonder if Congress can withhold SCOTUS operational funding until something is done? Sure, the justices can take expensive vacations funded by billionaires, but if that is the way it is gonna be, they can get used to hearing cases in a Publix parking lot.

    Power of the purse belongs to Congress and this is all about respecting separation of powers, right?

    • I wonder if Congress can withhold SCOTUS operational funding until something is done?

      They could do a hell of a lot more than that. The Constitution defines the SCOTUS and states:

      In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party, the Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction. In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions, and under such regulations as the Congress shall make.

      Congress has the power to modify the powers of the Supreme court. They could, if they had the will, take away the vast majority of the power of SCOTUS. Congress could add exceptions to the SCOTUS’ appellate powers for all matters except matters “affecting ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, and those in which a state shall be party.” With the President’s assistance, Congress could even expand the court and alter the current majority.

      They could do all this, but they won’t, and for the same reason they won’t impeach the blatantly ethically bereft members of the court. Because the Republicans are benefiting from the status quo and they will never allow the Democrats to change it as long as they have more than 40 seats in the Senate and a majority in the House.