John Cornyn: “earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an official code of conduct. This is really an update over existing…”

“earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an official code of conduct. This is really an update over existing rules that govern the ethics and operations of the Judiciary, not only at the Supreme Court but throughout the Judiciary throughout the country. This document was important because questions have been raised about the practices of the Court and about public disclosures of some of their activities. But the good news is, this was adopted by all nine members of the Court and codifies ethics rules and principles that guide the Justices' conduct. I am glad that the Court took this step to make clear to the American people that they were committed to operating with the highest ethical standards. But I get the impression that some of our colleagues here in the Congress think that it is the job of another branch of government to tell an independent branch of government what it ought to do. Obviously, it is basic government. We have three coequal branches of government: the legislative branch, the executive branch. Those are the so-called political branches. Then there is the independent judiciary, which is, frankly, I believe, the crown jewel of our system. I think there are those who sometimes feel like they don't like the decisions made by the Federal judges and that the best way to control that or to have an impact on it is to undermine public confidence in the Judiciary.…”