Senate Judiciary Committee

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Senate Panel Finds More Trips That Thomas Didn't Disclose

Harlan Crow financed the flights on private jets

(Newser) - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took three trips on private jets bankrolled by Harlan Crow that were not disclosed, according to information released Thursday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The information was contained in documents the billionaire Republican donor had turned over to the committee under subpoena over seven years,...

Senate Panel Dispatches Marshals to Tech Companies

CEOs receive subpoenas after summonses were turned away

(Newser) - Several major tech companies declined to cooperate by accepting summonses for their chief executives to testify in Washington, so the Senate Judiciary Committee said it had to escalate. X CEO Linda Yaccarino, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, and Discord CEO Jason Citron have now been subpoenaed, CNN reports. The committee enlisted...

Republicans Say They'll Block Supreme Court Code of Ethics

Senate committee approves disclosure rules, complaint process

(Newser) - A Democratic proposal to require the Supreme Court to adopt an ethics code for itself passed a Senate committee on Thursday but appears to have little future in the rest of Congress. The bill can't clear the full Senate or House without Republican support, and GOP lawmakers have said...

Megadonor Turns Down Senate Request on Thomas Gifts

His lawyer argues that Judiciary Committee doesn't have authority for investigation

(Newser) - Republican donor Harlan Crow has rejected the Senate Judiciary Committee's demand for a full list of gifts he gave Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over the years. In a letter seen by CBS , Michael Bopp, one of the billionaire's lawyers, argued that the committee doesn't have the...

Feinstein Says She'll Be Back in Congress, Doesn't Say When

There have been calls for senator to resign amid extended medical absence

(Newser) - There have been calls for Dianne Feinstein to resign amid the 89-year-old senator's extended medical absence from Congress, but she doesn't seem to have any interest in heeding them. Feinstein, who is recovering from shingles , released a statement Thursday in response to complaints that her absence is making...

John Roberts 'Respectfully Declines' Senate Request to Testify

And ignores invitation to have another justice appear in his place

(Newser) - Chief Justice John Roberts has declined a request from the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at a hearing next week on ethical standards at the court, instead providing the panel with a statement of ethics reaffirmed by the court's nine justices, the AP reports. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick...

Senate GOP on Feinstein Replacement: That's a No

Republicans 'of all stripes' line up against replacing the absent California Democrat

(Newser) - Sens. Mitch McConnell and John Fetterman got back to work on Monday after lengthy medical leaves, but Dianne Feinstein did not—and the question of whether Senate Republicans would allow a temporary replacement for her on the Judiciary Committee was quickly answered. As the Hill reports, "GOP senators of...

Feinstein Asks to Be Replaced on Senate Judiciary Committee

She says move would be temporary

(Newser) - Sen. Dianne Feinstein has asked to be temporarily replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee amid growing concern among Democrats that the 89-year-old will remain absent indefinitely without resigning. Feinstein, the oldest sitting US senator, was hospitalized with shingles in early March and her absence from the powerful committee has made...

Anita Hill: Can We Finally Fix These Hearings?
Anita Hill: Can We Finally
Fix These Hearings?
OPINION

Anita Hill: Can We Finally Fix These Hearings?

She expresses 'joy' at Ketanji Brown Jackson's confirmation, but says judge was mistreated

(Newser) - Anita Hill's reaction after the Senate confirmed Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court? "Pure joy," she told Anderson Cooper on CNN . "And not just joy for her, but also joy for the court and the American justice system." But...

FBI Agent Tried to Tell Me Nassar Abuse 'Wasn't That Bad'

Larry Nassar victims speak to Senate Judiciary Committee about botched investigation

(Newser) - Simone Biles says those involved in the botched FBI investigation of her abuser, former USA Gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, need to be "federally prosecuted to the fullest extent." Her Wednesday statement in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee came a day after the Washington Post reported that the...

Under Fire From Progressives, Feinstein Makes a Change

She'll give up her role as top Democrat on Senate Judiciary Committee

(Newser) - Dianne Feinstein has been taking a lot of flak from her fellow Democrats, particularly progressives in the party, and now comes news that the 87-year-old senator will give up her role as the top Dem on the Judiciary Committee. Politico reports that criticism of Feinstein has largely centered around her...

Senators Grill Tech CEOs Again
Facebook, Twitter CEOs
Face Angry GOP Senators
THE RUNDOWN

Facebook, Twitter CEOs Face Angry GOP Senators

Lawmakers accused them of anti-conservative bias

(Newser) - Two social media CEOs appeared for another grilling by a Senate panel Tuesday, with senators from both parties expressing concerns about their content moderation policies. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey appeared remotely at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, where Republican lawmakers accused them of anti-conservative bias,...

Democrats Use Visual Stunt as Barrett Vote Proceeds

They put portraits of ObamaCare beneficiaries in seats for Senate panel's vote

(Newser) - Amy Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court moved ahead on Thursday as the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to approve her, reports the AP . Every Democrat on the panel skipped the vote in protest, and every Republican voted yes. A full Senate confirmation vote is now on track for...

As Confirmation Hearings Wrap, Outcry Over a Hug

Dianne Feinstein's embrace of Lindsey Graham doesn't go over well on the left

(Newser) - A hug between Senate colleagues is getting a lot of attention. As Thursday's Supreme Court confirmation hearing wrapped up, Sen. Dianne Feinstein—the top Democrat on the Senate judiciary panel—took time to thank GOP chair Lindsey Graham. "This has been one of the best set of hearings...

Senate Panel Sets Vote Date on Barrett

Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Oct. 22, before sending nomination to Senate floor

(Newser) - The GOP is moving quickly in its plans to confirm Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, with the Senate Judiciary Committee officially setting a vote date of Oct. 22 for the panel, Politico reports. That would keep the Republican lawmakers' goal on track to have Barrett confirmed on the...

Can Trump Pardon Himself? Barrett Says She Can't Answer

It's the Supreme Court nominee's final day of questioning before the committee

(Newser) - Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett's third and final appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee got underway Wednesday. It follows a Tuesday session that stretched almost 12 hours, and the New York Times reports that with "many of the more technical questions" out of the way, the third...

Barrett's Day 2 Theme: 'I Have No Agenda'
Barrett
Sidesteps
Questions
on Big Issues
the rundown

Barrett Sidesteps Questions on Big Issues

'I have no agenda,' says Supreme Court nominee

(Newser) - The actual questioning of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett has begun on Capitol Hill. However, Barrett is following the tradition of nominees not answering questions about how they might rule on key issues—in this case, ObamaCare and abortion, notes Politico . "If I give off-the-cuff answers, then I...

Senator Who Tested Positive Speaks Maskless at Hearing
Trump Suggests Republicans
Scrap Hearings and Vote
the rundown

Trump Suggests Republicans Scrap Hearings and Vote

It's day one of the Amy Coney Barrett confirmation hearings

(Newser) - As a Senate panel begins the confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett, two things seem like safe bets. The first is that Republicans have the votes to confirm . The second is that, as predicted by judiciary panel chief Lindsey Graham in his introduction of Barrett Monday, "this is going...

Confirmation Hearings May Be 'Last Stand' for Graham

South Carolina senator is in the spotlight as chairman amid his tight reelection race

(Newser) - Much is at stake in the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, now underway in DC, and not just in court-related matters. The AP sees the hearings as a possible "last stand" for Lindsey Graham. The 65-year-old South Carolina Republican is locked in a tight race...

Barrett's Confirmation Appears to Be Less Certain

Two senators on Judiciary Committee have tested positive for virus

(Newser) - The COVID-19 toll on the Senate could put Republicans at risk of running out of time—and votes—as they try to push through the confirmation of a Supreme Court nominee. Three GOP senators have tested positive for the coronavirus, and others are in self-quarantine. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority...

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