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A pro-Trump legal group once led by the president’s top aide, Stephen Miller, has sued Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., alleging the judiciary has gone beyond its scope in communicating with Democratic lawmakers who made ethics complaints against Republican-appointed justices.
The America First Legal lawsuit comes as district court judges have issued blocks on various Trump executive orders and initiatives.
It’s a move to try to rein in the courts and get access to records from the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office of the United States Courts.
America First argues that those entities communicated with Democratic lawmakers over ethics concerns related to Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. The lawsuit says Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh has also been a subject of political “lawfare.”
The complaint alleges that the Judicial Conference made changes to reporting requirements for hospitality upon changes lobbied by the Democratic lawmakers.
Before the change, gifts and hospitality for the justices were not required to be made public, but after the change, they are now subject to reporting requirements.
The changes came after media reports surfaced in recent years alleging that Justices Thomas and Alito took trips with billionaires and did not disclose the accommodations.
“The Conference and the Administrative Office have actively accommodated oversight requests from these congressmen concerning their allegations,” the lawsuit reads.
“Under our constitutional tradition, accommodations with Congress are the province of the executive branch. The Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office are therefore executive agencies. Such agencies must be overseen by the President, not the courts. Judicial relief here not only preserves the separation of powers but also keeps the courts out of politics.”
The complaint asks the court to find that the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office are subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, as America First has been trying to obtain documentation of communications between the Democratic lawmakers and the courts staff.
The federal lawsuit was filed April 22 and has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden, a Trump appointee.
Chief Justice Roberts and former U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr., both Republican appointees, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Chief Justice Roberts oversees the Judicial Conference, and Judge Conrad is the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.
The Judicial Conference oversees the U.S. courts and the Administrative Office as a policy-making body.
The Administrative Office is an independent entity that aids the courts in day-to-day functions like budgeting.
Spokespersons for the Judicial Conference and the Administrative Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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