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In our nation no one is above the law. Not even former presidents. It is telling that Donald Trump’s lawyer in the Supreme Court today made no effort to assert that his client had not fomented an insurrection. He did not refute that Donald Trump on January 6 directed heavily-armed militants to go the Capitol to “fight like hell” to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election as part of his attempt to deny the will of the people and steal the election.    

Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States asserting that former President Donald Trump should be excluded from the Colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment for his role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. The case comes on appeal after Colorado’s High Court recently ruled that the “disqualification clause” of the 14th Amendment applied to Presidents, thus making former President Trump ineligible for the state ballot. Colorado Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the Colorado Supreme Court’s case, ultimately aligning with the court’s final ruling.

"Today's decision to expel Mr. Santos is a win for voters and democracy. Mr. Santos' deception and likely violation of federal law has been clear for a long time. Voters did not deserve a representative that lied and defrauded his way into Congress. The House Ethics Committee's diligent bi-partisan report made crystal clear that Mr. Santos is plainly unfit to serve in public office any longer. We commend the New York delegation's overwhelming bi-partisan vote in favor of expelling Mr. Santos, and all other Representatives who voted to protect the integrity of the House."

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to subpoena a wealthy donor and a high-profile legal power player at the center of recent United States Supreme Court ethics scandals. The vote came after the High Court proposed its own weak and unenforceable code of conduct earlier this month amid growing criticism.

In response to breaking news that the House Ethics Committee released a 56-page report that concludes Representative George Santos violated federal law, Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY said: “Today’s fact finding bi-partisan report from the House Ethics Committee makes it crystal clear that Mr. Santos is unfit for public office. Recognizing the seriousness of the remedy of expulsion, Common Cause/NY has waited for the process to play out appropriately. Now we and the House of Representatives are left with only one option: Congress must expel Mr. Santos.

This afternoon, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would adopt a code of ethics. The move follows a series of scandals involving Supreme Court Justices that came to light in recent months. The announcement also comes at a time when the Senate Judiciary Committee has already moved forward legislation to establish an ethics code for the Supreme Court and is scheduled to vote this week on subpoenas for witnesses at the heart of some of the recent scandals.