As observers grapple with the ramifications of a new report that revealed expensive hospitality costing hundreds of thousands of dollars that has been provided over the years to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas free of charge, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee, is pledging action.
He specifically referenced the prospect of a reasonably enforceable code of ethics binding judges on the Supreme Court like members of the federal judiciary elsewhere in the system are already bound. “The highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards,” Durbin said. “Today’s Pro Publica report reveals that Justice Thomas has for years accepted luxury travel on private yachts and jets and a litany of other gifts that he failed to disclose. This behavior is simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court. Today’s report demonstrates, yet again, that Supreme Court Justices must be held to an enforceable code of conduct, just like every other federal judge. The Pro Publica report is a call to action, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will act.”
Thomas, it was revealed, has enjoyed hospitality like trips on a private jet (sometimes for remarkably short jaunts) and yacht excursions in various global locales, all thanks to GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. Most of this aspect of the two’s relationship had gone unreported until now, despite a longstanding process for at least the disclosure of certain valuable gifts, tangible or not, provided to judges including members of the Supreme Court. A concern is that providing somebody on the nation’s highest court, where decisions could affect the daily lives of millions of people, with expensive perks could help facilitate corruption, and sure, Crow predictably claimed he wasn’t bringing up relevant cases with Thomas, but is there a way to be sure? Maybe there’s documentation showing otherwise!
Although there were recently updates to the guidelines for disclosures of gifts like the hospitality Thomas received, experts told ProPublica travel like Thomas’s jet and yacht trips was long subject to the disclosure requirements. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.), who is running for Senate in California, accused Thomas of breaking the law after these details emerged. He has also faced renewed calls from Democrats in Congress for either his resignation or impeachment, while other more general reform ideas, like expanding the court, also continue to circulate.
