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By the end of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Jedi Council knew that there's a Sith in existence (thanks to Yoda's knowledge of Rule of Two). By the end of the Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Jedi Council knew that Darth Sidious was hidden inside the Senate (thanks to Count Dooku for that information).

Jedi also knew about Force Stealth. Why didn't they simply use the old-fashioned blood test to check midi-chlorians count?

Update:
I know that merely positive midi-chlorians count couldn't prove Chancellor being Sith, but at least it'd bring a possibility of most powerful person in the Galaxy being a Sith and they would investigate further.

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user931
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    Midichlorian count doesn't mean he's trained (jedi or sith), just that he has potential. – Kevin Feb 25 '15 at 17:19
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    @Kevin After that they could keep an eye on that guy. And, some force sensitive guy happened to be Chancellor and they didn't receive a single force signal from day 1. Something's wrong. – user931 Feb 25 '15 at 17:22
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    Palpatine convinced most of the Senate and the Republic that the Jedi were exceeding their authority and attempting to take over the government. I think their demanding a blood sample from every member of the Senate would have helped his rise to power. – KSmarts Feb 25 '15 at 17:45
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    I think it's just a plot hole. I get the impression that midichlorians were only added so Lucas could have a simple way of saying "this character is more powerful than any other jedi, even without training". With all the in-universe explanations others have tried to offer, I think the plot hole could've been closed by showing a single jedi suggesting a blood test and being shot down by the senate or the council. We didn't get any of that, or any further mention of midichlorians whatsoever. – Liesmith Feb 26 '15 at 10:10
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    Why is this downvoted? It's a very reasonable expectation based on canon details. – DVK-on-Ahch-To Feb 27 '15 at 14:41
  • There was further mention of midichlorians, in ROTS and the final season of The Clone Wars. – Ras Morthil Jul 10 '15 at 22:23
  • hmmm, this question sounds like starting a witch hunt/red scare. Reminds me of mutant registration act (X-men) and the "who do superheros answer to" questions from Captain America: Civil War film. – RedCaio Nov 12 '15 at 06:29

2 Answers2

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The Jedi don't know that the Sith Lord is a senator. Dooku only told Obi-Wan that senators were influenced by the Sith Lord:

Count Dooku: What if I told you that the Republic was now under the control of a Dark Lord of the Sith?

Obi-Wan: No, that's not possible. The Jedi would sense it.

Count Dooku: The dark side has clouded their vision. Hundreds of senators are now under the influence of a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious.

Obi-Wan: I don't believe you.

The Jedi can't be sure that Dooku is telling the truth about this (dark side users are deceitful), but this does spur the Jedi to keep a closer eye on the Senate:

Obi-Wan: Do you believe what Count Dooku said about Sidious controlling the Senate? It doesn't feel right.

Yoda: Becoming unreliable, Dooku has. Joined the dark side. Lies, deceit, creating mistrust are his ways now.

Mace Windu: Nevertheless, I feel we should keep a closer eye on the Senate.

Yoda: I agree.

Still, Dooku's words merely cause the Jedi to assume the Sith Lord is manipulating senators from behind the scenes (e.g. bribing them). Windu means that the Jedi need to determine which, if any, senators are indeed under the Sith Lord's influence -- not that they suspect the Sith Lord is a senator. The Jedi therefore have no reason to test the senators themselves for midi-chlorians.

The Jedi may not have the authority to subject senators to blood tests, either, especially on such flimsy evidence (hearsay from a dark side user, which doesn't even include the claim that the Sith Lord is a senator).

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    In the end, Windu insisted to keep a close eye on Senate. Wouldn't a blood test be useful? At least, it'd bring the possibility of the Chancellor being the Sith. – user931 Feb 25 '15 at 17:32
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    Adding to this, it's important to remember that the Jedi are typically slightly overconfident as a group - and that most people are tested and identified as children. Palpatine apparently evaded testing in Legends canon, but it's possible that the Jedi assumed that either everyone had either been identified or that they would be able to sense any other Force users. – phantom42 Feb 25 '15 at 18:19
  • Jedi not have the authority? They run the entire war from their council room without consulting the Senate, and discuss killing the Chancellor without trial just because someone asserts he is a Sith Lord. – Oldcat Apr 15 '15 at 18:06
  • @Oldcat They ran the war because Palpatine insisted on it and made them generals. I can't figure out how you think that would give any authority over the Senate, who were supposed to be the highest authority in the Republic. – suchiuomizu Dec 01 '18 at 02:33
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This wider question was discussed in the (Legends Canon) comic Star Wars: Republic - Bloodlines. In short, a delegation of Jedi visited the Chancellor to suggest that they blood-test Senators in order to determine whether any of them were secretly Force Sensitive. Palpatine heavily pooh-poohed the idea, then appears to have had the (hapless, but well-meaning) Jedi killed.

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