Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts declines to testify before Senate on ethics

Supreme Court Justice John Roberts has declined to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the high court's ethics, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin said.

Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, made the announcement after Roberts declined Tuesday to testify, in a letter that in part read: "Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence,"

Roberts listed the rare times that a sitting chief justice has testified before Congress on what he called "mundane topics," and he noted that no president has ever testified before the Senate committee. He also attached a "Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices" that he said all members of the Supreme Court adhere to.

The Judiciary panel still plans on proceeding with the May 2 hearing, according to Durbin.

Earlier this month, Durbin invited Roberts or another justice of his designation to testify before the committee about ethics following revelations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas went on vacations with his billionaire friend. 

"I am surprised that the Chief Justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious," Durbin also said after Roberts declined his invitation. "The actions of one Justice, including trips on yachts and private jets, were not reported to the public.  That same Justice failed to disclose the sale of properties he partly owned to a party with interests before the Supreme Court."

Madeleine Hubbard is an international correspondent for Just the News. Follow her on Twitter or Instagram.