Constitutional scholar and leading conservative activist Leonard Leo is telling Senate Democrats, in particular Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, he will not comply with their ongoing witch hunt against the Supreme Court. Leo's attorneys also point out their inquiries are unconstitutional.
"We write on behalf of Leonard Leo in response to your letter of July 11, 2023, which requested information concerning Mr. Leo's interactions with Supreme Court Justices. We understand this inquiry is part of an investigation certain members of the Senate Judiciary Committee have undertaken regarding ethics standards and the Supreme Court," a letter sent to Durbin and Whitehouse by Leo's attorneys states. "While we respect the Committee's oversight role, after reviewing your July 11 Letter, the nature of this investigation, and the circumstances surrounding your interest in Mr. Leo, we believe that your inquiry exceeds the limits placed by the Constitution on the Committee's investigative authority."
Earlier this month, Durbin and Whitehouse sent a series of letters to Leo demanding to know details about his friendships, affiliations and activities with conservative justices.
Leonard Leo refuses to entertain Dems’ SCOTUS “ethics” charade — his lawyers tell Whitehouse + Durbin that targeting Leo is “political retaliation against a private citizen in violation of the First Amendment” in pursuit of a policy that “would be unconstitutional if enacted.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/q9NflkHXsH
— Spencer Brown (@itsSpencerBrown) July 25, 2023
"Your investigation of Mr. Leo infringes two provisions of the Bill of Rights. By selectively targeting Mr. Leo for investigation on a politically charged basis, while ignoring other potential sources of information on the asserted topic of interest who are similarly situated to Mr. Leo but have different political views that are more consistent with those of the Committee majority, your inquiry appears to be political retaliation against a private citizen in violation of the First Amendment," the letter continues. "For similar reasons, your inquiry cannot be reconciled with the Equal Protection component of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. And regardless of its other constitutional infirmities, it appears that your investigation lacks a valid legislative purpose, because the legislation the Committee is considering would be unconstitutional if enacted."
The response from Leo comes after months of unrelenting attacks and scrutiny on conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
1/Like thuggish behavior of @SenSchumer, who threatened physical harm to Justices Gorsuch & Kavanaugh in Mar 2020 if they did not vote his way, @SenatorDurbin & @SenWhitehouse are targeting Leonard Leo because they don’t like his politics. Shame on them. These tactics must end.
— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) July 25, 2023