March 5, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 44 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session

[Pages S1600-S1601]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 532--CONDEMNING AND CENSURING THE SENATOR FROM NEW 
                           YORK, MR. SCHUMER

  Mr. HAWLEY (for himself, Mr. Daines, Mr. Braun, Mr. Scott of Florida, 
Mr. Tillis, Mrs. Loeffler, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Sasse, Ms. Ernst, Mr. Lee, 
Mr. Cruz, Mr. Perdue, Mr. Scott of South Carolina, Mr. Inhofe, and Ms. 
McSally) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Select Committee on Ethics:

                              S. Res. 532

       Whereas the Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, is the 
     Leader of the Democratic Caucus and a former member of the 
     Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
       Whereas, at a protest at the Supreme Court of the United 
     States on March 4, 2020, Senator Schumer inveighed against 2 
     Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States 
     by saying, ``I want to tell you, Gorsuch, I want to tell you, 
     Kavanaugh, you have release the whirlwind, and you will pay 
     the price.'';
       Whereas Senator Schumer went on to warn Justice Gorsuch and 
     Justice Kavanaugh, ``You won't know what hit you if you go 
     forward with these awful decisions.'';
       Whereas the statements of Senator Schumer are an attempt to 
     unduly influence the judicial decisions of the Supreme Court 
     of the United States and to undermine the vision of the 
     founders of the United States of the ``complete independence 
     of the courts of justice'', as Alexander Hamilton wrote in 
     Federalist No. 78;
       Whereas the statements of Senator Schumer could be read to 
     suggest a threat or call for physical violence against 2 
     Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States;
       Whereas the Chief Justice of the United States immediately 
     rebuked Senator Schumer, stating that ``threatening 
     statements of this sort from the highest levels of government 
     are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous'';
       Whereas, according to the Institute for Economics and 
     Peace, political violence in the United States has increased 
     over the last decade;
       Whereas, in 2018, the United States Marshals Service 
     investigated 4,542 threats and inappropriate communications 
     against the judiciary;
       Whereas 4 Federal judges have been targeted and murdered 
     since 1979 and 2 family members of another Federal judge have 
     been murdered; and

[[Page S1601]]

       Whereas Senator Schumer has acknowledged that threatening 
     statements can increase the dangers of violence against 
     government officials when he stated on June 15, 2017, 
     following the attempted murder of several elected Members of 
     Congress, ``We would all be wise to reflect on the importance 
     of civility in our [N]ation's politics'' and that ``the level 
     of nastiness, vitriol, and hate that has seeped into our 
     politics must be excised'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) censures and condemns in the strongest possible terms 
     the Senator from New York, Mr. Schumer, for his threatening 
     statements against Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch and 
     Associate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh; and
       (2) calls on all members of the Senate to respect the 
     independence of the Federal judiciary.

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