Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act

Key Points

• The bill would create two new offices inside the Supreme Court: an Office of Ethics Counsel to advise justices on ethics matters, and an Office of Investigative Counsel to review and investigate ethics complaints against justices.
• The Ethics Counsel office would advise justices and their spouses on financial disclosures, gifts, political activity, conflicts of interest, and recusal. Every justice would be required to take ethics training every two years, and the office would report annually to Congress on what kind of advice was given and whether it was followed.
• Only top congressional leaders—such as the chairs and ranking members of the Judiciary Committees, or the Speaker and Senate leaders—could file ethics complaints that trigger an investigation. The Office of Investigative Counsel would have subpoena power to compel testimony and documents.
• Investigation reports would go to the Chief Justice and to congressional committees within 10 days. Reports would include recommendations like recusal or divestment. If investigators find evidence of a federal crime, they must report it to the Attorney General.
• All counsels must be experienced attorneys not already employed by the Court, serving fixed terms. The chief counsels would earn at least $225,000 annually and can only be fired by the Chief Justice for cause, providing some insulation from political pressure.