Harlan Crow's Stonewalling Over Gifts to Justice Thomas Tests Senate's Power

Rob Kelner’s commentary was included in a Bloomberg News article discussing a Congressional inquiry into gifts bestowed by billionaire Harlan Crow on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and an impending Congressional subpoena for Crow’s testimony.  

The responses Crow’s lawyers have given the committees investigating the gifts so far amount to “go pound sand,” said Rob.

According to Rob, the partisan cast of the controversy over Crow’s gifts and the increasingly common use of filibusters to thwart Senate action appears to be emboldening Crow and his advisers. If Crow doesn’t comply with a committee subpoena, the Senate would have to vote to take Crow to court to force him to turn over information. There is no precedent for filibustering such an action.

“They likely calculated that the votes won’t be there to overcome a filibuster and enforce a subpoena,” said Rob.