Opinion: Sheldon Whitehouse vs. the Supreme Court

Sheldon Whitehouse is at it again. The Senator who threatened the Supreme Court with retribution over a gun-rights case in 2019 is now threatening Congressional action if the Justices don’t follow his orders on how they conduct judicial business.

On Wednesday the Rhode Island Democrat will hold a Judiciary Committee hearing on “What’s Wrong with the Supreme Court: The Big-Money Assault on Our Judiciary.” Subtlety is not Sheldon’s speciality. The hearing is intended to advance his Amicus Act that would force the Court to change its rules on amicus briefs, which the Justices invite to inform them on the law and facts on cases.

Note the disrespect for the Court. The title of the hearing signals a foregone conclusion that the Justices are corrupted by money. This is a running theme of Mr. Whitehouse, whose preoccupations in the Senate have been undermining judicial independence and restricting the First Amendment rights of private citizens to influence their government.

The Supreme Court already has a rule—37.6—that governs amicus filings. It requires that amicus briefs “indicate whether counsel for a party” involved in the litigation “authored” or “made a monetary contribution” to the preparation of the brief. It further requires disclosure of “every person other than the amicus, its members or counsel, who made such a monetary contribution.”

Mr. Whitehouse wants to go further and require amicus filers to disclose all of their donors. This would hit groups on the left and right that aren’t required to disclose their donors but have scholars or legal experts who submit briefs. The Chamber of Commerce and NAACP would have to disclose all of their donors if they want to file briefs. This would deter some filers and thus less fully inform the Court, or it would open donors to these groups to political harassment—from the likes of Mr. Whitehouse and his political allies.