WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch will not participate in an environmental case being argued next week after reviewing the court’s new ethics code, according to a letter sent on Wednesday to lawyers involved.
The letter from Supreme Court Clerk Scott Harris did not explain why Gorsuch was recusing himself, saying only that “consistent with the code of conduct” he had decided not to participate.
The move came after liberal groups and more than a dozen members of Congress urged him to recuse over his prior links to billionaire Philip Anschutz.
Focus on Supreme Court justices and the rules that govern whether they recuse themselves from cases have garnered scrutiny in recent years, spurred largely by revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas’ ties to billionaire Harlan Crow. Justices have resisted codifying rules, but last year adopted a new code of conduct that critics day lacks an enforcement mechanism.
The case that Gorsuch opted to sit out revolves around the environmental review process for a railroad in Utah that would ship crude oil out of the Uinta Basin to existing railroads.
Anschutz has an interest in the project, as shown by an amicus brief the Anschutz Exploration Company filed in the case backing it.
In a November letter, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga. on behalf of himself and colleagues wrote that Gorsuch has “a serious and obvious conflict of interest that demands your recusal.”
He mentioned that Gorsuch, before he became a judge, had represented Anschutz and his businesses and had close ties to him.
As an appeals court judge before he was appointed to the Supreme Court, Gorsuch usually stepped aside from cases involving Anschutz.
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