Chris Murphy: Alito 'stunningly wrong' in saying Congress can't regulate SCOTUS
“It's just more evidence that these justices on the Supreme Court, these conservative justices, just see themselves as politicians," Murphy said.
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Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) forcefully pushed back on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s claim that Congress does not have the authority to regulate the judicial branch, calling Alito’s comments “stunningly wrong.”
“It’s just stunningly wrong. And he should know that more than anyone else because his seat on the Supreme Court exists only because of an act passed by Congress,” Murphy said Sunday during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
In an extensive interview published by the Wall Street Journal Friday, the longtime justice dismissed the Democratic-led effort to design ethics rules for the Supreme Court.
"I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it,” Alito told the Journal. “No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period.”
Senate Democrats passed a bill in committee that would overhaul ethics and transparency requirements for the Supreme Court earlier this month. The legislation, which is seen as having little chance of gaining further traction, comes after a series of reports about luxury trips and gifts justices have accepted over the years — including a ProPublica report on a luxury fishing trip Alito took with a billionaire who later had cases before the high Court.
Murphy slammed Alito’s remarks to the Journal, saying Sunday it is “even more disturbing that Alito feels the need to insert himself into a congressional debate.”
“It's just more evidence that these justices on the Supreme Court, these conservative justices, just see themselves as politicians. They just see themselves as a second legislative body that has just as much power and weight to impose their political will on the country as Congress does,” Murphy told host Kasie Hunt.
“It's why we need to pass this common sense ethics legislation to at least make sure we know that these guys aren't in bed having their lifestyles paid for by conservative donors, as we have unfortunately seen in these latest revelations.”
