Supreme Court Ethics and Investigations Act

H.R. 7692 would create two new offices within the Supreme Court to address ethics and accountability. The first office, the Office of Ethics Counsel, would provide ethics training and advise justices on ethical issues including gift disclosure and when to recuse themselves from cases. The second office, the Office of Investigative Counsel, would investigate complaints about potential ethics violations by justices and their family members, with authority to report findings to Congress and the Attorney General if criminal violations are suspected.

Under the bill, ethics complaints would be reviewed within 60 days to determine if a full investigation is warranted, and investigations would begin within 15 days of that determination. The Chief Justice could choose to release investigation reports to the public, though classified or personal information could be redacted. This legislation aims to establish accountability mechanisms for Supreme Court justices similar to those that exist for other federal judges and government employees.