U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is politely refusing to meet with Democratic senators regarding his colleague Samuel Alito's ethical issues, writing in a letter Thursday that to so would raise concerns about the separation of powers and itself create an appearance of impropriety.
"I must respectfully decline your request for a meeting," Roberts wrote to Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.. Apart from "ceremonial events," Roberts wrote, "only on rare occassions in our Nation's history has a sitting Chief Justice met with legislators, even in a public setting."
