The right-wing activist who helped shape the U.S. Supreme Court objected to President Joe Biden's three proposals for reform Monday.
The president called for Congress to pass a constitutional amendment that would undo the court's ruling on Donald Trump's immunity claims, limit justices' terms to 18 years and impose binding ethics rules to address the erosion of public trust in the court.
But judicial activist Leonard Leo objected to all three measures.
“No conservative justice has made any decision in any big case that surprised anyone, so let’s stop pretending this is about undue influence," Leo said in a statement. "It’s about Democrats destroying a court they don’t agree with."
As head of the conservative Federalist Society, Leo compiled the lists of potential justices that Trump released during his 2016 campaign and then advised the former president on nominations of Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Prior to that he also helped choose or confirm the other three conservative justices in the majority — Clarence Thomas, John Roberts and Samuel Alito.
“If President Biden and the Democrats were truly serious about ethics reform, then they would ban all gifts and hospitality of any kind to any public official in any branch of government, starting with Congress, where the real corruption is," Leo stated.
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"They would close all of the loopholes that allow Members to travel on private jets to fancy hotels and restaurants. With respect to judges, they would include the things where influence peddling is most present and dangerous — and that’s when the liberal Justices rub shoulders with influencers at places like law schools, bar associations, progressive think tanks and their conferences, and other groups and events funded by Left-wing billionaires, where they support real vested interests in the work of the Court."
Democratic senators have called for the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel to investigate alleged violations of federal ethics and tax laws by Thomas, and Alito and Gorsuch have also faced questions about their acceptance of gifts from conservative billionaires.
“Let me be clear: If Democrats want to adopt an across-the-board ethics ban for all branches, I am in favor of that: no jets, no meals, no speaking honorariums, no gifts for anyone from anyone for any reason in any branch, starting with Congress," Leo said.
"Until they support that, let’s all be honest about what this is: a campaign to destroy a court that they disagree with.”
