House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Tuesday accused Democrats of using incendiary rhetoric toward the Supreme Court and asked for a briefing from the Department of Justice on efforts to ensure the justices’ safety, Courthouse News reports. In a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, Jordan said a staff-level briefing on bolstering the justices' security is needed by Aug. 6. Jordan claimed Democrats’ criticism of the court necessitated additional security checks after the attempted assassination of former President Trump. “In recent years, left-wing groups and partisan activists have been unrelenting in their attacks on the court and its independence,” Jordan wrote. Jordan said these attacks included protests outside the justices’ homes after a draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked.
The groups targeted the courts' six Republican appointees, Jordan said, noting that one group posted the justices’ home addresses online. Jordan said this was an attempt to influence the court’s rulings. While the majority of protests at the justices’ homes were peaceful, an armed man was arrested outside of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s residence after threatening to kill the Trump appointee. A week later, lawmakers passed a bill providing extra security for the justices’ families. Jordan put Democrats’ calls for court reform into the same bucket, suggesting that lawmakers wanted to undermine and delegitimize the court. Jordan specifically cited Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden's call for a special counsel to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas’ financial disclosure omissions.
Comments