that is when john roberts said there are no obama judges or trump judges, bush judges.showed how much the chief and other justices were trying to counteract the idea that justices were not going to be neutral based on their politics. the bottom line is we have a court that has signaled to the american public that it is politically energized. >> you cite the chief justice who said his confirmation hearings he was going to be an umpire calling the balls and strikes. you also write the conservatives seem intent on rewriting the law. >> a lot of our viewers will remember john roberts broke away from the five conservatives to his right in the dobbs ruling that reversed roe v. wade. he did not want to go so far, so fast. john roberts has been with the others on the conservative side to rollback racial remedies, restrict regulations, and m of that involves reversing precedent. lowering the wall of paration between church and state, diminishing the ability of the federal government to regulate the environment public health safety. on social policy issues, many ongoing clashes b

there are also demonstrations at john roberts home. he is absolutely right that there was a man who was arrested who had come from california who was caught near brett kavanaugh's home who said he was coming to kill him. justice alito was exactly right about what happened to justice kavanaugh. quickly conducted an investigation -- they found nothing. is it true they never questioned this? because it was very casual conversation. >> i would love to know how the document left the building. i suspect it could have changed hands before it ended up on politico. i know how it happened -- as much about how it happened today as i did on may 2. i know they were very sloppy with a number of people who had access to this draft document. i know they were sloppy with burn bags. for a place that is all about the secrecy, i need to find that out. they were loose with documents like this. it could have gotten out of that building in so many different ways and obviously someone new the potential here. given what it did do, many people have complained i

why is this so hard for john roberts? he chief justice. the real question is why is it so hard for gorsuch and thomas these latest revelations, it's another self-inflicted wound the big problem is the basic american principle, you're not supposed to a judge in your own cause, and it's left to them that blank box really does stand out, and the specific incident with harlan crow, maybe thomas wouldn't have known it the big problem is they're deciding for themselves and really leading again and again with their children. it's not clear if roberts, if he tries to martshal support, it almost has to be forward looking, the remedy. you have new kind of momentum in a motion to potentially expand the court to 13 members. it's part of a really unnecessary and unfortunate set of problems for the court. >>> david jolly, i take harry's point about the lack of tools at john roberts' disposal, but it's a leadership question. to the public, you don't necessarily know how incomplete or ineffective the tools are, but you know that chief sho

coming up chief justice john roberts sends his regrets.hey will not be appearing before the senate judiciary committee to discuss ethics. the court adequately handling his own business, mark smith joins us with more on "sunday night in america". with flonase, allergies don't have to be scary. spray flonase sensimist daily for non-drowsy, long lasting relief in a scent-free, gentle mist. (psst psst) flonase. all good. all across the country, people are working hard to build a better future. so we're hard at work, helping them achieve financial freedom. we're providing greater access to investing, with low-cost options to help maximize savings. from the plains to the coasts, we help americans invest for their future. and help communities thrive. realtor.com (in a whisper) if we use kevin's college fund, we can afford this house. the house whisperer! this house says use realtor.com to find options within your budget. good luck young man. realtor.com to each their home. >> welcome back to sunday night america the judiciary is a coequal branch

chief justice john roberts' role was chiefjusticejohn roberts' role was in chief justice john robertsthis chiefjusticejohn roberts' role was in this ruling? chiefjustice john roberts' role was in this ruling? hard to sa , role was in this ruling? hard to say, because _ role was in this ruling? hard to say, because the - role was in this ruling? hard j to say, because the majority didn't explain its reasoning, didn't explain its reasoning, didn't say why it was leaving things as they are and letting the fight continue in the lower court. so we would be speculating. but, as i say, you know, this is something that the course doesn't need to take on right now or to decide right now and i think that that has a lot of to do with it. you might remember that the chiefjustice remember that the chief justice was remember that the chiefjustice was not among the conservatives who thought the court should overturn roe v. wade, he thought that there was another path to uphold more abortion restrictions without overturning what had been a constitutional right for a half—century. constitutional right

. >> well jill, new reporting about chief justice john roberts wife is adding to concerns about the supreme court's conflict of interest. we know that he's already refused to adopt an ethics code. so what are options for increasing oversight on the high court and do they need anymore? >> it is going to have to -- yes, there definitely needs to be more. i think that we are at a point where the supreme court has lost so much credibility that people cannot trust it anymore. we have seen an amazing conflict of interest with both justice roberts, and justice

john roberts picking up the story, saying the chair invited the chief justice to testify and was focusedn the ethical roles governing the supreme court as well as changes to those guidelines. the story adding the call to robert's testimony comes at a turbulent time for the court and its members concerns surrounding the lifetime appointments involving justice clarence thomas who are according to an investigation failed to disclose 20 years of luxury trips with billionaire and republican donor heartland fro. -- harlan crow discussion on how supreme court justices discuss ethical issues w in your year end report on the federal judiciary. , there has been a stay stream of revelations regarding justic falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal juds and public servants generally. these problems were apparent in 2011 and the failure to address them has contributed to a crisis of public confidence, the status quo is no longer tenable. that is part of the letter that dick durbin sent to chief justice john roberts concerning hearing, not being subpoenaed but voluntarily being

why is that not the discussion we are having as opposed to durbin asking john roberts to come by and talk this out. there is no official power for chief justice roberts. he doesn't have the authority to remove or punish a supreme court justice. constitutionally, only impeachment can remove a supreme court justice. but roberts is in the position where he could promulgate ethics rules for his own court. if justices do not follow those ethics rules, he would at least be in the position to call them out, to use the power of the pulpit, use the power of the press to say this is wrong, please stop it. that's not an official power but i think it would matter to certain people if john roberts got up in front of a microphone and said the stuff we have learned in the stuff we've learned is unacceptable and we cannot have it here at the supreme court. that would mean something to somebody. roberts won't do that. host: justice thomas or just is gorsuch, is it still in your mind to the appearance of wrongdoing or was there actual wrongdoing? guest: figuring out the quid pro quo is the difficult pa

john roberts ruled in her clients favor. he did not recuse. don't know who her other clients were. there isn't any evidence that any individual lawyer that jean roberts placed argued before the supreme court there's no evidence that's the case. but it is the same forums. the same firms that were giving her money to praying the employees they wanted a in. so yeah, it's a lot of money. ten point $3 million. it's hard for the sort of worrisome thing is if your argument case before the supreme court. and the other, side of the lawyer you're up against. there from gabe the chief justice of the supreme's wife hundreds and thousands of dollars, wouldn't you want to know that going in. just so that there are actually some traditional standards for this where there are some guidelines that suggest that justice should recuse himself. where the chests should get a waiver. at least in from the other side about this. so the other side can say you know what, this isn't a big deal. we will proceed anyways. i'm good with him recusal. they didn't do this. also

the last time john roberts revealed any of his thinking about the subject was in writing 12 years ago justice roberts has been absolutely silent during a period when the ethica standards of the supreme court have been publicly questioned, more vigorously, then at any point the supreme court' history. on the last day of 2011, the chief justice issued his annua year and report of the federal judiciary and included a few lines about ethical standards. which may have seemed no unreasonable at the time, bu through the lens tha investigative reporting ha given us on clarence thomas no seems downright childish chief justice wrote, all members of the court to do, in fact, consult the code o conduct and assessing thei ethical obligations, in this way, the code plays the same role for the justices as i does for other judges. that is not true other federal judges are bound by the code of conduct, suprem court justices are not bound b the code of conduct. so to say that they consulte the code of conduct is in ever important sense, meaningless the chief justice went on to say something that we kno

so what that means is that i may be news to the rest of the public that this is a news t john robertsyone els that clarence thomas was doing these things the reason that is important i because it is going to keep on the exact same way has been. when you tried to criticiz clarence thomas, it's just going to be real about this. building on our previous segment. you aren't simply criticizing conservative judge here criticizing someone who has come to symbolize for vast percentage of conservatives, hey, we're no racist because we love clarenc thomas so when you try to attack thos two icons simultaneously you set up a recipe for disaster the question that the rest o us need to be asking is, if we are going to put these philosopher kings and queens i these positions, shouldn't there be some degree o regulation about what they d and do not do that pulls the so far apart from the way th rest of us love their lives, - influencing how we live ou lives? >> and regrets to stephe breyer's rather ridiculous comments that thomas is a ma of integrity, is it any wonder that conservatives keep gettin a

it's also what democrats on the senate judiciary committee want chief justice john roberts to answer o justice clarence thomas who failed to disclose everybody travagant trips funded by a republican mega donor, the committee is promising to hold a hearing on the, quote, needs to establish confidence in the court's ethical standards. joining me is correspondent garrick haake so what do democrats want >> reporter: well, they want answers and really what they want is for the supreme court ethics, the rules that apply to every other and don't apply to the stream court, katy, i think those are likely to come away disappointed from the latest effort the last time they tried to press jchief justice roberts about adopting those rules he said he didn't see any need. and any other body in washington has very little control over the court, including the justice, there's just not much the senate can do, other than shine a light on continued questions about judicial ethics and the specifics around the clarence thomas case by holding a hearing. but in terms of bringing him down to testify or kind o

. >> well jill, new reporting about chief justice john roberts wife is adding to concerns about the supreme court's conflict of interest. we know that he's already refused to adopt an ethics code. so what are options for increasing oversight on the high court and do they need anymore? >> it is going to have to -- yes, there definitely needs to be more. i think that we are at a point where the supreme court has lost so much credibility that people cannot trust it anymore. we have seen an amazing conflict of interest with both justice roberts, and justice clarence thomas and both of them involved their wives in addition. i am all for women having independent careers but there is a line that has to be drawn when it interferes with the independents of the judiciary. and i think congress is going to have to do some oversight and passed some rules that will make it clear when recusal is necessary. i don't think that either justice has recused himself in the appropriate ways when lawyers from firms where justice roberts wife placed people, and earned millions of dollars doing so, they shouldn't be

the argument from chief justice john roberts was it wasn't necessary . like you said.ocrats are going to hold a hearing on this. they have not released the list of witnesses that they expect to invite to that hearing, but they say it's coming in upcoming days . we expect that this is going to take center stage when lawmakers return from their easter recess, john it will be interesting to see where the accountability comes from. lauren fox. keep us posted. thank you so much, sarah. right now, several states are stockpiling millions of abortion pills as a fight over the drugs. fate now hangs on an appeals court plus leaked classified document reportedly reveals egypt was secretly planning to send rockets to russia. that war with ukraine, details ahead. morgan stanley old school hard work bold new thinking. to help you see untapped possibibilities and relentlessly work with you to make them real. for people who are a little intense about hydratio. nerogena hydro ost lightweight clinically proven 48 hour hydration for that healthy skin glow neutrogena for people with skin

senate democrats have invite supreme court chief justic john roberts just five between the before theee amid recent report about justice clarence thoma and his relationship with th republican megadonor senators would like to speak with the chief justice about the course ethics in may judiciary chair senator dick durbin says roberts hasn't personally responded to this impatient yet, but durbin wa told the senate request wa shared with the judicial conference and forwarded to th judicial conference committe on financial disclosure. in a letter to chief justice roberts, senator durbin said quote, the courts decade-lon failure to address ethic problems has contributed to crisis of public confidence. he went on to say, quote, th status quo is no longe tenable. all of this comes after series of reports in propublic saying justice thomas failed t disclose luxury trips and even a real estate deal wit billionaire republican donor karlyn crow. my political panel is back wit me now, i hope you all can say propublica, because i clearl couldn't hello again to trump brendan buck and ameshia cross s

you're seeing john roberts there in the chair of the senate judiciary committee, dick durbin sent him a letter. that's durbin sending a letter to roberts. what did he ask? >> reporter: he wants more information, katy. you know, chief justice john roberts had responded to durbin's request that he testify before their committee with an explanation of the ethics rules that the members of the supreme court are expected to abide by. and durbin simply thinks there's not enough information given to stories that have come out about the clarence thomas and his connection to a wealthy donor, and neil gorsuch and others. this is what durbin is asking for in his letter. he said the statement of principles raises more questions than it resolves, and we request that you respond to several key questions, and then it outlines a number of specific pieces of information that the committee is looking for to try and help explain what the penalties would be if a supreme court justice doesn't abide by this code of ethics, which many believe is a bit flimsy. this is the back and forth volleying, there isn't

for 19 chief justice john roberts has declined to testify at an ethical standards hearing next week. >> the stemming from accusations against justice clarence thomas and his relationship with the republican mega donor, harlan crow, illinois senator durbin, who you see here responded in a statement saying, quote, make no mistake, supreme court ethics reform must happen. whether the court participates in the process or not. >> why this supreme court, these 9 justices believe they are exempt from the basic standards of disclosure. now, i cannot explain. >> well, lawmakers will proceed with a second hearing on supreme fickle standards without chief justice john roberts. house republicans narrowly advanced their plan to lift the nation's debt limit in exchange for spending cuts. beaker kevin mccarthy is now hoping that president joe biden will come to the negotiating table. washington correspondent jessi tenure joins us live with the very latest on this back and forth. good morning. jessi. >> good morning to you as well, james. so remains really a back and forth. the 2 leaders are still a

john roberts in washington.hah, you would make a great umpire. >> aishah: i was a referee back in the day. i'm in for sandra smith. everyone is talking about in washington today, coming from the white house. >> john: fox news alert to top a brand-new hour, minutes from now the white house will face questions on any number of hot topics, unlike the president himself, seemed to know what the topic was when he faced reporters the first time in more than a month. it happened at this time yesterday during "america reports," president biden in the rose garden caught with a detailed cheat sheet during his news conference. >> aishah: photos reveal he had a note card identifying the l.a. times reporter he called on, complete with her picture along with the very topic she asked about. >> john: critics questioning how the white house staff handles the president and whether they are worried about him answering questions off the cuff. it comes as the 80-year-old president begins his campaign for another term. even the "new y

. >> bill: i'm bill melugin in for john roberts. aggressive proposal by the e.p.a., transforming the auto industry. >> sandra: requiring as many as two-thirds of new cars and trucks in this country sold by 2032 to be electric. critics of this plan say president biden's sweeping climate agenda is moving unreasonably fast and is an attempt to kill the combustion engine, which revolutionized industrial manufacturing in america and helped the u.s. become the world's top economy. >> bill: energy experts are warning the president's efforts to force the u.s. car companies to go electric will have minimal benefits for the environment, while delivering massive profits to chinese companies that control the rare earth mineral supply chain need today produce e.v. batteries. >> sandra: who is fired up about that? dagen and sean are standing by. >> bill: jacqui heinrich is travelling with the president in dublin, ireland. what is some of the reaction to the president's proposal? >> well, we have not heard any comment from the president yet, bill,

chief justice john roberts did not respond to cnn's request for comment.atement to propublica, harlan crow, said, quote justice thomas and ginny thomas never asked for any of this hospitality. we never asked about a pending or lower court case, and justice thomas has never discussed one end quote wolf ryan. how is the chief justice john roberts addressed these sorts of controversies in the past. we know that senator dick durbin, the chairman of the senate, fishery committee has said recently he has written letters to justice roberts asking about potential conflicts not only involving justice thomas but others. and asking whether the supreme court needs to do more to police itself. roberts according to durban, wrote him back a terse letter saying they really didn't need to do that. but they're under more and more pressure to do that. now, wolf on top of this story as well, brian todd, thank you very, very much into our viewers. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in the situation room. erin burnett outfront starts. right now. outfront next, a dr

john roberts in washington, and this is "america reports."or gives interviews to reporters set to take questions since the first

our story. >> war of words to police itself is once again ratcheting up following chief justice john robertsck durbin about ethical issues at the court. >> what we received yesterday was not just the letter saying that i respectfully decline the invitation and what appeared to be a defense of the status quo. >> the various ethical questions and signed by all nine of them and self-enforced policy includes deciding for themselves to recuse from a case and durbin pushing for more and a new bipartisan bill requires them to leave a new bill and top republican doesn't sound like he's on board. >> there are desperate and never ending jobs to smear and defame justices appointed by the republican presidents going back years and decades. >> back in 2016, roberts acknowledges the court's obligation. >> we have to be above or apart from the criticism because we make unpopular decisions. >> questions about gifts and things he bought for a personal friend and this week focus on a real estate transaction between justice gorsuch and high profile lawyer heading a worldwide firm with thousands of attorneys ar

to his final weeks after he lost the 2020 election, and that is where he and the chief justice john roberts really butted heads. yep you probably remember it was really an unprecedented clash a few months, actually, a few weeks only after the break. kavanaugh hearing when president trump was complaining about a judge who ruled against him in an asylum case, and he referred to the judge as an obama judge to, you know, deride him, and that was the only time the chief justice decided to say something public, and he issued that statement that said, we have no obama judges. we have no trump judges. we don't have bush or clinton judges. we just have these new neutral judges. and trump and fires back, but it was just so i thought it was so symbolic of exactly what finally pushed chief justice john roberts over the edge to say i have to speak out against him because the point was and as we see right now, with these proceedings that are going to be held tomorrow, poppy donald trump is always trying to undermine judges who will be handling cases and the judiciary more broadly, and we'll see if trump'

i'm sandra smith, i'm john roberts. tory starts right now. >> martha: i'm with john on that one. we have big stories developing on this monday afternoon. three very big names. trump, desantis and musk. as americans look to the future, the former president and the current governor of florida taking the gloves off in some big ads that hit

. >> welcome back as "america reports" rolls into a second hour for this good friday, i'm john roberts> good to be with you, john. anita vogel in for sandra smith. we are going to unpack all of that straight ahead this hour but start with a report on the withdrawal from afghanistan which puts the blame on biden's predecessor. >> it's a fox news alert and crickets from president biden who drove off to camp david after reporters got the look at the long-awaited afghanistan report, dropped just minutes before the briefing. exposes major flaws in how it was executed, and tries to place the blame on the former administration. >> anita: i don't know, even mainstream media outlets are slamming the timing of the release, one reporter calling it the very definition of a holiday news dump and still no word from the president on the matter. >> john: americans are still seeking answers to why president biden green lighted the withdrawal of all u.s. troops so quickly, even when his top generals advised against it. >> no one told your military advisers, no, keep 2500 troops. an no, no one said that

john roberts in washington. the democratic mayor already warning some in her party may see her proposal as a betrayal, specifically those who have supported defunding the police. but others say safety should be everyone's priority. >> i remember, and i'm old enough to remember where it did not matter if you were a democrat or republican, your safety was one that every party cared about. >> sandra: right to matt, covering the story closely. matt, there's a million ways to look at this, and now we watch the l.a. mayor and her plans, what do we expect to happen next? >> well, sandra, here in los angeles within the past decade the police department hit 10,000 officers but the newly elected mayor karen bass says it could drop to below 9,000, the lowest in morning two decades. bass is calling for urgent action to hire 500 more officers. the city is launching a recruitment campaign offering financial incentives to new hires and asking recently retired officers to come back. but it's an uphill battle. in a demoralized d

i'm sandra smith. >> john: i'm john roberts.tarts right now. >> martha: good afternoon. i'm martha maccallum at fox news headquarters in new york. here's a story that you're not seeing elsewhere today. this happened today in washington. these four very influential mayors of big cities, chicago, houston, new york, l.a. got together and they talked about their take on crime in their cities. what they were saying was quite interesting. i think you could call this a wa-u

. >> john: john roberts in washington. as you can imagine, larry has a lot to say coming up. >> by the year 2000, we should succeed in seeing that every 8-year-old can read independently. today 40% of our nation's 8-year-olds are not reading as well as they should. and that is the main reason we have launched america reads. >> reading is the new civil right. cornerstone of hope and opportunity in america. and we are going to make sure every child has the opportunity to learn to read. i'm going to ask congress to spend money on teacher training. >> study after study show children with a high quality early education earn moreover their lifetime than peers. early education is one of the best investments we can make, not just in a child's future. >> sandra: president after president promising to reform early childhood education to make sure our nation's children can read and spending millions after millions trying to do it. >> john: more and more of america schools are not only not teaching kids to read but a method many educa

city >> i would say that is damagin his reputation, also damagin the reputation of chief justic john roberts all of this mark joseph, thank you so much always a proud leisure always appreciate your insights that's all in on this monday night. the rachel maddow show start right now. good evening, rachel >> much upgraded, nice to se insights that is "all in" on this monday night. "the rachel maddow show" starts right now. good evening

i'm john roberts in washington. starting off a new week, sandra. >> sandra: right on into it, john. a lot of people think of war the moment they hear sudan but bloody battles in the past have never been like this. all right, so you are looking live in sudan, thousands of americans have been left behind and this makes the pentagon briefing that we are waiting any moment now key, john, as we await the news out of that. the americans left behind are hunkered down there, many with their families, hoping for any way out. so, we'll see what reporters have to ask in that room about the urgency of this moment a few moments from now. >> john: and congressman byron donalds is going to join us on the biden administration handling of yet another global crisis. stay tuned for that. but a busy afternoon at the white house, president biden about to take the podium to honor america's top teachers, but the other event on his schedule is creating some controversy. >> sandra: and the meeting between the president and the three tennessee lawmakers who led gun control protests following the horrific sch

an enforcement system. >> and whistle-blower documents also show that the wife of chief justice john robertse than $10 million in commissions from some of these elite law firms that do business here in the country. at least one of those firms later argued a case before roberts at the supreme court. now, as the spouse of the chief justice, what should be the rules be? i mean we've talked about wives of other justices on the supreme court. but what about in this case? >> well, again, the spousal problem, it's something i dealt with a lot when i worked in the white house. you know, this is washington, d.c. so you are going to have spouses who are involved in the business of the capitol. >> sure. >> placing people at law firms, that is a legitimate activity. again, you have to distinguish between that, where it would have been good to have clear rules, more disclosure, and we shouldn't be finding out about this through whistle-blowers. but that is totally different than the clarence thomas situation, again, where his wife was involved in the january 6th investigation as a witness, and he's sitti

senator durbin as chief justic john roberts who testify on th ethics, saying, quote, the steady streame feeling short of at the coas standards. just today, there been confirmed that roberts has not yet responded to the invitation, instead referring to request t the judicial conference, which serves as the policy makin body of the federal courts also this week, democratic congressman hank johnson and senator sheldon whitehouse wen one step further, requesting that the judicial conference referred justice thomas to the u.s. attorney general fo potential violations of th ethics and government act of 1978 congressman johnson is a senio member of the house judiciar committee and the rankin member of the subcommittee overseeing federal courts, including the supreme court. he joins me now. congressman, it's great to see you again, thank you for comin back on the show tell us about this request t the judicial conference, wha is it about the ethics i government act that yo specifically want looked into? >> the ethics and government - thank, you ayman, for having m tonight. the ethics and govern

i'm bill melugin in for john roberts.for religious groups like the priests to partner with the federal government. most people have not even heard about this yet, but the window for the public to weigh in

. >> reporter: but chief justice john roberts, like his predecessor, has suggested that these outsidemittees or other branches of government courthe e couct. rah.rawford, tha you very much. >>> the "cbs overnight news" >>> the "cbs overnight news" will be [tap tap] my secret to beating sniff checks? secret dry spray. just spray and stay fresh all day. my turn. secret actually fights odor. and it's aluminum free. hours later, still fresh. secret works. do you struggle with occasional nerve aches in your hands or feet? hours later, still fresh. try nervivenerve relief from the world's #1 selling nerve care company. nervive contains alpha lipoic acid to relieve occasional nerve aches, weakness and discomfort. try nervivenerve relief. mmm, popcorn. (alternate voice) denture disaster, darling! we need poligrip before crispy popcorn. (regular voice) let's fix this. d. r moh could talk, it would li (regular voice) let's fix this. ap my secret to chec? justpray and stay fresh all day. my turn. secret actually fights odor. and it's aluminum free. hours later, still fresh. secret works. and it'

how realistic is the idea of serving a subpoena on someone like john roberts. was trying to be really slippery by saying, well chief justices don't appear before congress to testify. that's true. other supreme court justices appear before congress to testify, including justices that have been on the robbers court while roberts was on it. all right. so the idea that justices never testify before congress is just bunk, and it's just that classic kind of lawyer trip trick that robert is trying to -- he thinks he smarter than everyone else and doesn't realize people can see what he's doing. the larger issues that you're getting at, i think the fundamental problem with his hearing, as it has been diligently constructed by dick durbin, it's the idea that -- whether we need to ask the supreme court to apply its own ethical standards to itself. once you asked the supreme court to sue police itself, which is ridiculous. the supreme court cannot police itself. it's proven that it can't police itself. asking it super nicely, oh, john, would you please police yourself righ

but, look, john roberts need to lead on this. the justices comment i inexcusable.will get you bounced out of congress or the senate on an ethics charge. >> but if it is not illegal, he's not going anywhere. >> he did violate the law, i appears, with failing to disclose this. and it looks like th billionaire was just movin money to him basically putting money in his pocket by buying's mom says, taking - doing improvements on th house. i mean, my god, and to fail to disclose it is egregious and so john roberts should ste up there should be a code o conduct for the congresses congress could play a role b threatening to impeach him and by launching an investigatio either in the hill or throug the justice department it is unacceptable what justic -- >> what do you think >> i agree, but i also think i is disturbing. because every day, every month every year that goes by withou any accountability, what kin of message does that send to the american public? >> and just to women who are thinking about the dobbs decision what kind of validity does tha court have for everyda a

and members of the supreme court is escalating today, as senate democrats press chief justice john roberts clarity about ethics rules on the high court. roberts has already refused to testify on the issue, but in the wake of reporting, justice clarence thomas failed to disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts over the years. democrats are not giving up that easily. let's go to senior capitol hill correspondent garrett haake who's following this for us. what happens now? where can this fight go from here? >> democrats are frustrated but they lack good options at this point. the judiciary committee chairman, dick durbin says their plan on judiciary ethics will go forward, even without the chief justice or his designee agreeing to come and testify. democrats would like to perhaps discuss at least the idea of subpoenaing the chief justice or justice thomas around whom this whole issue kicked up but without dianne feinstein, the senior member of the judiciary committee and critical member in this closely divided senate, without her in washington, they lack the votes to do so, so

. >>> chief justice john roberts has turned down a request to testify before the senate judiciary committee. roberts received the invitation from democratic committee chairman dick durbin to appear next week during a hearing on ethics standards at the supreme court.oferts provhe pan with a statement of ethics signed by all nine justices. the invitation came after news reports of a close relationship between justice clarence thomas and billionaire conservative donor harlan crow. >>> reaction continues to pour in after the death of harry belafonte. the legendary actor, singer, and civil rights activist died yesterday in new york at his home at the age of 96. the reverend al sharpton tweeted, "he was a history-changing activist. a culture-changing entertainer, and an unmatched intellectual." oprah winfrey posted this on instagram, "thank you for your music, your artistry, your activism, your fight for civil rights and justice." vlad duthiers looks back at belefonte's storied life and career. ♪ >> reporter: affectionately known as the king of calypso, harry belafonte sparked a craze for caribbe

responsibility and ethics in washington also known as crew is asking the doj and chief justice john robertso investigate thomas for failing to report both of these real estate sales and the other quote, lavish gifts given to him by crow. a federal disclosure law passed after watergate requires justices to disclose the details of most real estate sales that are over a thousand dollars. in a statement crow said he purchased thomas's mother's house to quote one day create a public museum at the thomas home dedicated to telling the story of our nation's second black supreme court justice. joining me is democratic senator from rhode island and member of the judiciary committee sheldon whitehouse he has been at the forefront of congressional efforts to hold the supreme court on ethical and transparency issues. the homes that harlan crow purchased, specifically the mother's house it appears clarence thomas's mother still lives there and renovations have been done to the house that she remedid not for. it's unclear if she's paying rent i'm curious if he's trying to preserve the house, regarding how

this is john roberts' court.e dealing with the situation where history will remember it as such. i was there when he went through his confirmation hearing and he is an articulate well-schooled man when presenting his point of view and i'm sure he'll do well before the committee, but history will judge the roberts' court by his decision as to reform, and i think this is an invitation on may 2nd for him to present it to the american people. ? let me move to some politics here, a super majority in our poll, senator durbin. 70%. you can't get 70% of americans to agree on much, but 70% of americans do not believe president biden should seek a second term. does that give you cause for concern especially when you look at the numbers if the democratic coalition, particularly younger voters are skeptical to whether he should run again. >> there are 19 months before the election. some people select their candidate 19 days before the election. we are far in advance of any decision making. here's what we do know. this presid

so, at the very least, there i an optics problem here tha john roberts surely does not welcome. of the courts institutional legitimacy, an this is not good for the legitimacy of the court righ now to have a member, basicall being wind and dying and takin around the galapagos in a supe yacht, when he's telling the rest of the public that hi preference is to drive aroun in an rv land yacht, and sta overnight in walmart parking lots apparently, he doesn't protest too much >> melissa murray, katie benner, i'm gladly we have made it t cover that last topic. coming up, she was the targe of a massive anti-vaccin conspiracy theory, and the story was she was dead which is very much alive, an telling her story exclusivel to nbc news, when the 11th hou continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ i'm jonathan lawson here to tell you about life insurance through the colonial penn program. if you're age 50 to 85, and looking to buy life insurance on a fixed budget, remember the three ps. what are the three ps? the three ps of life insurance on a fixed budget are price, price, and price. a price you can afford, a price

i'm john roberts in washington. >> sandra: i guess -->> sandra: and a lot of news is expected.tting up a possible trump rematch but this time around, president biden will have to defend his record as americans are struggling to make ends meet. >> our economic plan is working. we now have to finish the job and there's more to do. i ran for president to rebuild the backbone of american, the middle, grow the economy from the middle out and the bottom out, not the top down. >> john: the president's campaign kick-off comes as another presidential candidate seeks to clinch the moderate vote. nikki haley making news on abortion, an issue her party has struggled to unite on. that is coming up later on in this hour. >> sandra: get right to it with jacqui heinrich top of the hour, live in the briefing room where again this will be the first briefing since the president made his formal announcement this morning, jacqui. >> that's right, sandra. and the official line is the president wanted to make this announcement today on the four-year anniversary of his 2020 campaign launch. democratic

on gop billionaire megadonor' time and that shady real estate deal i want to know chief justice john roberts actually confront the controversy in an upcoming senate hearing all of that and more is coming up a good sunday morning to you all. i am katie phang we begin today share wit breaking news. escalating fighting in sudan's capital. u.s. forces have safel evacuated 100 -- and their dependents under u.s security from the embassy. the state department says of ration's at the embassy ar temporarily suspended. thousands of americans wer caught in the middle of tw warring factions fighting fo control of the city's capita for the past two weeks hundreds of innocent civilians have died and the stat department confirms one u.s. citizen or was killed in tha conflict nbc's courtney kube has th latest >> about 100 u.s. military special operations force undertook a daring mission saturday to rescue u.s government personnel who hav been caught in the middle of intense fighting in sudan' capital khartoum the mets - mission began at 9 am saturday in djibouti, u.s. troops flyin 800 miles to sudan what th

. >> chief justice john roberts quickly or of the to conduct an internal investigation.shal was cannot find that late link could not find out how they did that. the justices left with the fallout progress look where we are. the trust in that belief is gone forever. it changes the institution fundamentally. you begin to look over your shoulder. >> what assets are about the polls one of the justices who dissented from the landmark opinion sought to reassure. we have to have continuing face in the court system, and our system of government continuing the battle each day. to regain the public's confidence. shannon: we have a powerhouse legal panel to talk one year after they can facing new ethics question judicial crisis network president former clerk for justice clarence thomas. constitutional accountability president elizabeth. george washington university law professor former clerk for justice thurgood marshall. legal partner cooper and kirk former clerk for justices samuel alito. thank you all for giving us your time today we appreciate this when you're out we still have