Washington Following a nearly two-year inquiry by Democratic senators, the Supreme Court ethics committee exposes Justice Clarence Thomas’s additional opulent travels and calls on Congress to create a mechanism for enforcing a new rule of behavior.
Given that Republicans are getting ready to seize control of the Senate in January, any progress on the matter seems doubtful, highlighting the difficulties in limiting a distinct arm of government at a time when public trust in the court has reached all-time lows.
A private jet flight to New York’s Adirondacks in July and a jet and yacht trip to New York City in October, sponsored by billionaire Harlan Crow, were among the additional trips Thomas took in 2021 that were not disclosed on his annual financial disclosure form, according to the 93-page report released Saturday by the Democratic majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The report also details more than two dozen instances in which Thomas accepted gifts and luxury travel from wealthy benefactors.
Each of the nine judges is responsible for adhering to the court’s initial code of ethics, which was adopted in 2023. The action came after ProPublica conducted substantial investigative reporting.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, stated in a statement that the nation’s top court cannot have the lowest moral standards. He has long advocated for an ethical code that can be enforced.
Republicans objected to the subpoenas that were approved for Crow and other probe participants. No formal report from Republicans was anticipated, and none of them signed on to the final report.
Thomas’s close friend and a candidate for the upcoming Trump administration, Mark Paoletta, said the report was directed at conservatives whose decisions Democrats didn’t agree with.
In a statement published on X, Paoletta said that the goal of the entire probe was to weaken the Supreme Court rather than to upend ethics.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the court.
Thomas claims he was exempt from disclosing the travels he and his wife, Ginni, took with Crow because the large contributor is a close friend of the family and it was not previously necessary to declare that kind of travel. It is specifically required by the new ethics rule, and Thomas has since returned and disclosed some trips. Crow has insisted that he has never discussed ongoing court cases with his pal.
According to the report, over his decades on the court, Justice Antonin Scalia started the habit of taking secret gifts and hundreds of trips. It stated that retired Justice Stephen Breyer and the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg also had subsided vacations, but they reported them on their yearly forms.
According to some estimates, Thomas has collected gifts and travel from affluent patrons totaling over $4.75 million since his 1991 confirmation, but he has mostly kept this information a secret. The report claims that the quantity, worth, and opulence of the presents that Justice Thomas accepted are unmatched in contemporary American history.
It also described Justice Samuel Alito’s 2008 opulent excursion to Alaska. He claims that prior ethical guidelines prohibited him from sharing the trip.
After riot-related flags were spotted flying at two of Alito’s residences, Alito also refused requests to drop cases concerning Donald Trump or the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021. According to Alito, this wife raised the flags.
Additionally, Thomas has disregarded requests to withdraw from cases involving Trump. When the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden, Ginni Thomas backed Trump’s attempts to rescind the outcome.
The article also highlighted criticism of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who over the past ten years has promoted book sales through campus visits with the help of her staff. In addition, justices have handled matters concerning their book publishers or businesses in which they have shares.
The most well-known Democrat to advocate for a legally mandated code of behavior has been Biden. While some ethical experts have stated that it could be legally complex, Justice Elena Kaganhas has publicly supported the adoption of an enforcement mechanism.
Recently, Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself from an environmental matter, citing the code. Gorsuch, who represented a Colorado millionaire before becoming a judge, had been under pressure to resign because the outcome would favor him.
Along with additional congressional investigation, the study urges changes to the Judicial Conference, the federal court’s supervisory body headed by Chief Justice John Roberts.
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