ICYMI: Rep. Schiff, Colleagues Slam Judicial Conference’s Failure to Address Conflicts of Interest, Demand Judicial Integrity
Washington, D.C.— In case you missed it, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) recently joined with Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), as well as Representatives Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Katie Porter (D-Calif.) in sending a letter to the Judicial Conference (“the Conference”) expressing profound concern with a Fifth Circuit judge’s continued participation in a case challenging a landmark credit card regulation while holding stock in the card issuer projected to be impacted most by the regulation.
The case, Chamber of Commerce v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, is currently pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and involves a lawsuit by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s (“the Chamber”) and allied Wall Street trade associations, including Citigroup, who seek to block a new rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would protect consumers by limiting late fees charged by credit card companies.
One of the judges on the Fifth Circuit panel, Judge Don Willet, holds stock in Citigroup, a major credit card issuer and an influential member of the trade groups that filed the lawsuit. Additionally, Citigroup is projected to be hit hardest by the CFPB rule the Chamber’s suit aims to block, with estimates saying the rule would reduce the company’s earnings per share by 6.4%.
“Judge Willet’s financial interest in Citigroup meets the standards for mandatory recusal,” wrote the lawmakers. “No reasonable observer can deny that Judge Willett has a financial interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the CFPB case. Federal ethics law and judicial ethics guidance ought to bar him from adjudicating this case.”
The letter describes how the Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct incorrectly applied the ethics requirements set by federal statute and by the Conference’s own guidance, how this failure indicates a need for stronger federal judicial ethics laws, and how the Judicial Conference must address conflicts of interests created by judicial stock ownership.
“Judge Willet has refused to recuse himself from the case despite this clear conflict of interest,” wrote the lawmakers. “To make matters worse, the Judicial Conference’s Committee on Codes of Conduct, in an April 16, 2024 letter to Judge Willett, all but gave its blessing to this ethically troubling decision.”
In fact, the Committee seemed to encourage Judge Willet to adjudicate the case, suggesting that recusal could “needlessly delay() the judicial process” and “create the appearance of a biased tribunal.”
“Federal ethics law and judicial ethics guidance require Judge Willett to recuse himself here,” continued the lawmakers. “To the extent they do not in the Committee’s view, revisions of those laws and guidance are urgently needed.”
The lawmakers then advocated for Congress to swiftly pass the Judicial Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act, called on the Judicial Conference to reform its guidance on the conflicts of interest raised by judicial stock ownership, and warned that the Judicial Conference blessing Judge Willett’s participation in the case despite his significant conflict of interest threatens the integrity of the justice system.
“While Congress should act swiftly to pass this legislation, the Judicial Conference should also reform its guidance on the conflicts of interest raised by judicial stock ownership, including by requiring judges to divest individual stock holdings,” the lawmakers concluded.
View the full text of the letter here.
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