My Citizen Legislators, the hits keep coming about the Supreme Court.  Today I want to discuss the recent lapses of members of the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS).  ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with a moral force.  According to the ProPublica website, its mission is – To expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.

 ProPublica investigating stories have shed sunshine on how members of SCOTUS have crossed the ethical line, and the integrity of the court is in question.  The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Supreme Court Ethics Reform on May 2, 2023.  Witnesses testifying at the hearing were: 

The Honorable Jeremy Fogel

Executive Director, Berkeley Judicial Institute and Former U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of CA

University of California, Berkeley Law School

Washington, D.C.

Kedric Payne

Vice President, General Counsel, & Senior Director of Ethics

Campaign Legal Center

Washington, D.C.

Amanda Frost

John A. Ewald Jr. Research Professor of Law

University of Virginia School of Law

Charlottesville, VA

The Honorable Michael B. Mukasey

Former United States Attorney General and Former U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of NY

New York, NY

Thomas H. Dupree Jr.

Partner and Co-Chair of the Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Washington, D.C.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) invited SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts to testify and he declined.  He called such testimony by chief justice’s was “exceedingly rare”.   

Forbes.com  Here Are The Recent Controversies Supreme Court Justices Have Been Caught Up In—As Senate Hears Case For Code Of Ethics

The Senate committee will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics reform with a panel of legal experts, after committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at the hearing and he declined.

Lawmakers have renewed their push for a binding ethics code—which the justices do not have, unlike lower federal judges—following ProPublica reports detailing Justice Clarence Thomas’ dealings with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, whom Thomas has reportedly accepted gifts and luxury travel from for years without disclosing it as federal law requires.

Crow also purchased real estate in Savannah, Georgia, from Thomas in 2014—including the home where the justice’s mother reportedly still lives—ProPublica reported, which was also not disclosed as required.

Thomas has also drawn significant controversy over his wife, Ginni Thomas’ right-wing activism, particularly as she supported efforts to overturn the 2020 election as Thomas heard cases on it, and the justice has been

My Citizen Legislators.  CNN went full Jerry Springer on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, by hosting a Town Hall meeting for former President Donald Trump at Saint Anselm College in New Hampshire. The town hall was moderated by Kaitlin Collins.

I didn’t watch the town hall meeting for a variety of reasons.  I knew Trump was going to go all in on spewing lies about the 2020 election, January 6, 2021 – the insurrection.  CNN Chief Chris Licht defended his decision to give Trump the opportunity to spew his lies.  He basically said CNN did a public service to the nation because Trump is a leading contender for the presidency in 2024.  Three million people watched this spectacle.  CNN didn’t do this for the good of the nation; they did it for ratings, money, and for the good of CNN.

On top of that, Anderson Cooper made condescending remarks defending CNN, praising Kaitlin Collins and basically saying Americans shouldn’t silo themselves from only listening to folks they agree with.  The majority of Americans don’t live in a silo; they are fully aware of Trump and his MAGA cult followers.   

Trump received 46.9 percent of the vote in 2020 and lost the popular vote by over  7 million votes.  He may possibly win in 2024, that’s why my Citizen Legislators must resist, fight and mobilize.

Thank you for the opportunity to share my knowledge and love of politics.  I look forward to geeking out with you again.

Politico.com: Enough With the Bellyaching Over CNN’s Trump Town Hall

TheHill.com: Trump shares fake video of Anderson Cooper reacting to CNN town hall

RollingStone.com: CNN Is Hosting a Town Hall for a Guy Who Tried to Get Me Killed

CNN.com: READ: Transcript of CNN’s town hall with former President Donald Trump

Newsweek.com: Biden Mocks Trump After CNN Town Hall

Huffpost.com: Joe Scarborough Scorches 'Most Shocking' Part Of Donald Trump's CNN Town Hall

CNN.com: Anderson Cooper addresses criticism about Trump town hall

TheHill.com: Frustration at CNN boils over with Trump town hall         

Vox.com: A second Trump administration would be much worse 

CNN.com: Profile Kaitlan Collins Anchor and Chief Correspondent

Variety.com: Kaitlan Collins Expected to...

My Citizen Legislators, May 2, 2023 will live infamy.  House Democrats unveiling a master stroke of utilizing a legislative maneuver – the discharge petition.  Let me set the stage for you, my Citizen Legislators.  On January 30, 2023, Congressman Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA-10) quietly introduced H.R. 626, the Breaking Gridlock Act.  He did not issue a press release or make a floor statement on the introduction of the bill.  H.R. 626 was referred to twenty congressional committees.  The Congressional Research Service bill summary of H.R. 626 is as follows:

This bill addresses a wide variety of issues, ranging from raising grandchildren to earthquake hazards reduction, to underrepresented groups in cancer trials to telehealth, and fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria.

Specifically, the bill establishes a Federal Task Force to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren.

With respect to earthquake hazards reduction, the bill

• reauthorizes the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program;
• reduces the frequency of reporting by the Interagency Coordinating Committee on Earthquake Hazards Reduction;
• modifies the responsibilities of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the National Science Foundation; and
• directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to review federal earthquake hazard risk reduction efforts.

The bill also (1) reauthorizes the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, and (2) restores certain amounts withheld for tax purposes from severance payments to veterans with combat-related injuries.

The GAO must review actions federal agencies have taken to address barriers to participation in federally funded cancer clinical trials by populations that have been traditionally underrepresented in such trials.

The Department of State and the Department of Defense must jointly develop and submit to Congress a five-year strategy to help enable the government of Nigeria, members of the Multinational Joint Task Force to Combat Boko Haram authorized by the African Union, and relevant partners to counter the regional threat of Boko Haram.

The bill makes supplemental appropriations for the Telehealth Resource Center of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy of the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth.

Now you’re asking yourselves, what the hell does this have to do with the debt ceiling.  Well, in the House of Representatives, under Rule XV, any member may file a discharge petition with the Clerk of the House once the committee has had a measure for more than thirty days (remember H.R. 626 was introduced on January 30, 2023). 

According to Congressional Procedure, A Practical Guide to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress by Richard A. Arenber, a discharge petition must reference only one measure, not multiple pieces of legislation. While discharge petitions are sometimes threatened by the minority, success requires the petition to be signed by a majority of the House (normally 218 members) and therefore is exceedingly rare.  Once the necessary signatures appear on a discharge petition, a motion to discharge is placed on the House’s Discharge Calendar.  Any member who signed the petition is eligible under the rules to offer the motion on the floor, although such motions are restricted to a “discharge day,” which occurs only on the second and fourth Monday of each month. If a majority votes for the motion when it is brought up on discharge day, the measure is brought to the floor.  Since the House is a majoritarian body, a successful discharge petition is considered a rebuke to the Speaker, the majority leadership, and the powerful Rules Committee.  Members of the majority are expected to follow the leadership on procedural votes.

A successful use of a discharge petition in the House is very rare. The last discharge motion...