Defiant Alito declares Congress has 'no authority' to regulate SCOTUS

Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel Alito on Friday asserted that Congress lacks the authority to regulate the top bench amid a push from Senate Democrats to force the court to reform its handling of ethics issues following critical reporting on some of the justices' disclosures or lack thereof.

"I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it... No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court—period," he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.

His comments follow efforts from the Senate Judiciary Committee to require that the court draft a code of conduct and create a process by which the public may submit complaints against its members over ethics issues.

The committee approved the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act on a party line 11-10 vote last week. Republicans have contended that the effort represents a Democratic attempt to rein in the Supreme Court amid frustrations over a string of recent conservative decisions, which Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., denies.

Both Alito and Associate Justice Clarence Thomas have come under scrutiny following reports about their associations and disclosures. Thomas, in particular, drew scrutiny over his longtime association with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.

Alito, meanwhile, has taken flak for not recusing himself from a 2014 case involving billionaire Paul Singer's hedge fund after previously riding on Singer's private plane during a luxury fishing trip to Alaska.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.