Reid fires back at Chief Justice Roberts
Oh, it’s on now.
The jabs keep on flying between Congress and members of the Supreme Court in the wake of its ruling in the campaign finance case Citizens United v. FEC, which lifted a limit on corporate campaign spending.
Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid jabbed at Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr., who was part of the Court’s 5-4 majority in the case.
Reid said the chief justice has no understanding of the impact of its ruling. “Do you think John Roberts knows or cares how people get elected?” the Reid said at a meeting of liberal bloggers, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Reid’s comments are just the latest evidence of the tensions between Congress, the Court and the White House in the aftermath of the Citizens United ruling. President Obama openly criticized the ruling during his State of the Union address, drawing an immediate reaction from Justice Samuel Alito – one of six Supreme Curt justices who attended the address – who grimaced, shook his head and said “not true.”
Tuesday Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. criticized the politicized atmosphere of the State of the Union address, saying the event has devolved into a “political pep rally.” Roberts said it was “troubling” to sit through the address expressionless as members of Congress were “cheering and hollering” all around him.
In February Justice Clarence Thomas said the rancorous atmosphere at the annual speech before Congress caused him to stop attending years ago.
