Key congressional Democrats have asked the former federal judge who reviewed the Supreme Court’s investigation into the leak of a draft abortion opinion to provide them with more information about his involvement following a CNN exclusive report that raised questions about his objectivity.
Their letter to the Michael Chertoff – also a former secretary of the Department of Homeland Security – points to CNN’s Joan Biskupic’s exclusive reporting that Chertoff’s risk assessment firm had been privately contracted by the court in recent years for security assessments as well as his personal connection with some justices.
CNN’s reporting of his firm’s prior work for the Supreme Court – which reached at least $1 million in payments – raised questions about whether he could be an objective validator of the leak investigation.
“The Court’s failure to explain adequately why it felt a third-party review was necessary, how it chose that reviewer, and its preexisting relationship with the reviewer all warrant additional clarity,” the February 23 letter from Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Hank Johnson said.
Whitehouse, of Rhode Island, chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee with oversight over the courts and has been a vocal critic of the conservative-dominated court and its recent decisions. Johnson, a Georgia representative, is the ranking member of the counterpart subcommittee in the House.
A spokeswoman for the Chertoff Group had no immediate response Tuesday night about how Chertoff was handling the request.
The Democrats’ letter asks Chertoff for more information about the previous work he and the firm the Chertoff Group did for the court, and about the process by which he applied for those projects.
They also noted CNN’s reporting that Chertoff has some personal connections to some of the justices and…
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