The Clarence Thomas Scandal Is What's Wrong With Our Democracy
1 year, 8 months ago

The Clarence Thomas Scandal Is What's Wrong With Our Democracy

Huff Post  

What are the ethical boundaries for people who have political power and influence? Nearly every year for the past two decades, the Supreme Court justice enjoyed luxury vacations and free travel at the invitation of GOP megadonor and conservative billionaire Harlan Crow. It practically goes without saying that if one of the court’s three liberal justices had been doing what Thomas has been doing throughout their tenure, Republicans would be screaming bloody murder. As one ethics lawyer put it to ProPublica: “When a justice’s lifestyle is being subsidized by the rich and famous, it absolutely corrodes public trust.” And that is the point. Legal experts can say what they will, but the way the public sees it, or should see it, is pretty simple: “Dat don’t look good.” In a functioning democracy, Thomas would be impeached immediately.

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History of this topic

Senators file official demand for criminal investigation of Clarence Thomas
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Senators file official demand for criminal investigation of Clarence Thomas

Raw Story  

Democratic senators are calling for the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas violated federal ethics and tax laws. "The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors …

The Real Scandal at the Supreme Court Is Not Clarence Thomas’ Ethics Form
6 months, 1 week ago

The Real Scandal at the Supreme Court Is Not Clarence Thomas’ Ethics Form

Slate  

The liberal legal and political commentariat justifiably has its collective hair on fire about the flagrant ethics violations of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, both of whom hold such malleable conceptions of what constitutes an “appearance of impropriety” that it could reasonably be found in a founding-era dictionary definition of hypocrisy. Each time we invoke a Supreme Court “ethics …

Opinion: The Supreme Court’s lack of accountability is worse than you think
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Opinion: The Supreme Court’s lack of accountability is worse than you think

LA Times  

The well-documented ethical failings of Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Clarence Thomas are all the more troubling because the Supreme Court has become seriously disconnected from democratic accountability. Justices nominated by Republican presidents have constituted a majority of the court for more than 50 years — since 1970, when Justice Harry Blackmun was nominated and confirmed in the Nixon …

Clarence Thomas still hasn't coughed up info about 'many gifts' that remain secret: report
6 months, 2 weeks ago

Clarence Thomas still hasn't coughed up info about 'many gifts' that remain secret: report

Raw Story  

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made national headlines when he finally admitted a conservative billionaire gifted two free vacations — a trip to Indonesia and a northern California "all-male retreat" — but investigative reporters say a slew of valuable perks remain secret. "There are many gifts Thomas received that he has still not disclosed," ProPublica reported Friday, "Even after the …

'It pays to be Clarence': Data shows justice raked in 'staggering' $4 million in gifts
6 months, 2 weeks ago

'It pays to be Clarence': Data shows justice raked in 'staggering' $4 million in gifts

Raw Story  

Supreme Court Justices have received about $4.7 million in gifts over the past two decades — more than $4 million of which was pocketed by Clarence Thomas, newly revealed data show. “Supreme Court justices should not be accepting gifts, let alone the hundreds of freebies worth millions of dollars they’ve received over the years,” Fix the Court’s Gabe Roth said …

The Alito Scandal Is Worse Than It Seems
6 months, 3 weeks ago

The Alito Scandal Is Worse Than It Seems

Politico  

The Alito household’s display of those flags — no matter what prompted it or whose decision it was to fly them — means that Alito should recuse himself from the cases pending before the court concerning Trump’s alleged efforts to steal the election. Even if Alito’s account is completely true, though, there would still be no excuse for a Supreme …

Legal scholar: Clarence Thomas “corruption” almost “certainly unlawful and ethically reprehensible”
1 year ago

Legal scholar: Clarence Thomas “corruption” almost “certainly unlawful and ethically reprehensible”

Salon  

A deep dive into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' finances revealed a secret complaint, or a subtle request, he made to a Republican Congressman about a pay raise, threatening that if lawmakers didn’t act, “one or more justices will leave soon,” according to a ProPublica investigation. The Court has held here that there is a compelling governmental interest in assuring …

Clarence Thomas Just Made Another Mess for His Colleagues to Clean Up
54 years, 11 months ago

Clarence Thomas Just Made Another Mess for His Colleagues to Clean Up

Slate  

Back in July, the Supreme Court shocked observers by turning down a chance to do what it loves doing most: dismantle the Voting Rights Act, piece by piece. And Thomas, as he is wont to do in cases he loses, extended a conspicuous invitation to right-wing activists and/or lower court judges in a footnote: The opinion in Milligan, he noted, …

House Democrats call for investigation into Clarence Thomas over corruption claims
1 year, 4 months ago

House Democrats call for investigation into Clarence Thomas over corruption claims

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A …

Clarence Thomas faces fresh calls to resign after more billionaire gifts revealed
1 year, 4 months ago

Clarence Thomas faces fresh calls to resign after more billionaire gifts revealed

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Democratic …

Opinion: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ corruption is intolerable. Here’s what we can do about it
1 year, 4 months ago

Opinion: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ corruption is intolerable. Here’s what we can do about it

LA Times  

If you thought you could no longer be shocked by the lavish gifts conservative billionaires have reportedly bestowed on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, Thursday’s remarkable investigative report from ProPublica might surprise you. The report exposes Thomas’ pattern of secretly accepting private flights, yacht trips and other luxuries from a cadre of super-wealthy conservative donors over three decades in violation …

Samuel Alito scandal shows why conservative justices on the Supreme Court are so whiny
1 year, 6 months ago

Samuel Alito scandal shows why conservative justices on the Supreme Court are so whiny

Salon  

Earlier this week, ProPublica, which had previously exposed the bottomless corruption of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, scored another big hit on Justice Samuel Alito, who is best known for citing a medieval witch-burner as a legal authority in his Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. Related Samuel Alito took luxury fishing vacation with GOP billionaire who later had …

It's time to investigate Ginni Thomas: here's why
1 year, 6 months ago

It's time to investigate Ginni Thomas: here's why

Raw Story  

Want to get Clarence Thomas off the Supreme Court? Back in March, I shared with you the story of how Senator Strom Thurmond torpedoed LBJ’s plan to make Abe Fortas Chief Justice — Fortas was then the most liberal justice on the Supreme Court — by running the “Abe Fortas Film Festival,” showing porn movies to men in the Senate …

'Like laundering money': Court watcher says Clarence Thomas is flouting even the few ethics rules that exist
1 year, 7 months ago

'Like laundering money': Court watcher says Clarence Thomas is flouting even the few ethics rules that exist

Raw Story  

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is effectively able to "launder money" through his wife, argued Gabe Roth of the watchdog group Fix the Court on MSNBC Friday. This comes amid new reporting that right-wing judicial activist Leonard Leo and eventual Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway arranged a secret payment to Virginia "Ginni" Thomas through an organization that successfully lobbied the Supreme …

What to know about the Supreme Court and ethical concerns
1 year, 7 months ago

What to know about the Supreme Court and ethical concerns

NPR  

What to know about the Supreme Court and ethical concerns Enlarge this image toggle caption J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP New reporting from ProPublica has revealed another example of undisclosed expenses that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received from a wealthy Republican donor. Among the highlights of the report: Law Megadonor's purchase of Clarence Thomas' property was never disclosed, …

Column: The Supreme Court rejects ethics oversight. Can anything change that?
1 year, 7 months ago

Column: The Supreme Court rejects ethics oversight. Can anything change that?

LA Times  

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: Even if he’s found to have breached ethics rules, what can anyone do about it? “That reality is driving a crisis in public confidence in the Supreme Court.” The debate about imposing an explicit code of conduct on the Supreme Court has foundered on a constitutional shoal — specifically, whether Congress could promulgate a code …

Yachts, $10m payouts and secret hunting trips: The Supreme Court’s long history of ethics scandals
1 year, 7 months ago

Yachts, $10m payouts and secret hunting trips: The Supreme Court’s long history of ethics scandals

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Crow also bought a group of properties …

Supreme Court scandals: John Roberts’ refusal to do anything is the move of a monarchist.
1 year, 7 months ago

Supreme Court scandals: John Roberts’ refusal to do anything is the move of a monarchist.

Slate  

Last Thursday, Sen. Dick Durbin invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about, well, to put it directly—the Supreme Court’s diaphanous ethics regime. Put aside for a moment Politico’s new report that Justice Neil Gorsuch failed to disclose that he’d sold his valuable Colorado property to a prominent lawyer with multiple cases before the court …

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: What could Congress do to hold him accountable?
1 year, 8 months ago

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: What could Congress do to hold him accountable?

Slate  

After two ProPublica investigations revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have been quietly violating federal disclosure law for over 20 years, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to investigate the matter quickly—or they would have to “consider legislation to resolve it.” For decades, Thomas has been accepting luxury vacations, including …

Column: What Clarence Thomas calls hospitality looks a lot more like corruption
1 year, 8 months ago

Column: What Clarence Thomas calls hospitality looks a lot more like corruption

LA Times  

I am shocked, shocked to find that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ commitment to originalism — that is, the belief that legal texts should be interpreted as they were understood when they were adopted — comes to a screeching halt the minute he slides off the bench. I mean, maybe nothing can stop a venal Supreme Court justice from being …

Thomas revelation of gifts fits a broader pattern of financial nondisclosure from the Supreme Court
1 year, 8 months ago

Thomas revelation of gifts fits a broader pattern of financial nondisclosure from the Supreme Court

CNN  

Washington CNN — The recent revelations of lavish gifts and travel that a Republican megadonor showered on Justice Clarence Thomas reflect a larger Supreme Court culture of nondisclosure, little explanation, and no comment. In a brief statement responding to the story of his relationship with billionaire real estate magnate Harlan Crow, Thomas said his colleagues and others in the judiciary …

Biden should order Clarence Thomas’s cases to be reviewed
1 year, 8 months ago

Biden should order Clarence Thomas’s cases to be reviewed

The Independent  

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Supreme Court …

Judges 'livid' with Clarence Thomas over secret yacht trips: 'Why respect for the Court has plummeted'
1 year, 8 months ago

Judges 'livid' with Clarence Thomas over secret yacht trips: 'Why respect for the Court has plummeted'

Raw Story  

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a rare public statement in response to a bombshell ProPublica story this week that he accepted millions of dollars in luxury travel from a Republican megadonor without reporting it. Despite his defense of his actions, said CNN's Ariane de Vogue on "The Lead" Friday, many federal judges don't feel the same way. "They don't …

Clarence Thomas faces new impeachment calls over luxury trip gifts from GOP megadonor
1 year, 8 months ago

Clarence Thomas faces new impeachment calls over luxury trip gifts from GOP megadonor

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The progressive lawmakers’ colleague US Rep Ilhan Omar …

Clarence Thomas exposed himself with his complaints about attacks on the Supreme Court: columnist
2 years, 7 months ago

Clarence Thomas exposed himself with his complaints about attacks on the Supreme Court: columnist

Raw Story  

In a column for MSNBC's Maddowblog, political analyst Steve Benen made the case that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' complaint last week about the leak of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's draft Roe v Wade ruling said more about him than the sanctity of the court. I wonder how long we’re going to have these institutions at the rate we’re …

Why the Clarence and Ginni Thomas Scandal Vanished From the News
2 years, 8 months ago

Why the Clarence and Ginni Thomas Scandal Vanished From the News

Slate  

A few short weeks ago we learned, while in the throes of an historic Supreme Court confirmation hearing, that a sitting Supreme Court justice had participated in at least one case in which his wife was an interested party. When news dropped that Virginia “Ginni” Thomas has been texting strategic advice to Mark Meadows, the Trump White House’s chief of …

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