Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) was among those in recent days who spoke out regarding the contents of a report from ProPublica that revealed years and years of free hospitality enjoyed by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas thanks to GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.
Those sorts of gifts to a federal judge could help open opportunities for cultivating favor from that judge, which of course would threaten what is supposed to be the independence of the judiciary — a federal judiciary whose decisions easily affect millions of people across the United States on a very regular basis. “Clarence Thomas’ repeated ethical lapses & conflicts of interest have permanently undermined his ability to do his job and he therefore must resign,” Goldman said on Twitter. “Yet another reason why SCOTUS must be subject to ethics regulations with an independent investigatory body for alleged violations.”
The Supreme Court is largely without the same variety of binding ethics regulations imposed on judges elsewhere in the federal judicial system, it seems. In the Senate, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee, has pledged action on what could include this very issue, and with Democrats still in control of the Senate, there’s at least somewhat more of a chance for progress.
“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,” Durbin said last week. “The Pro Publica report is a call to action, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will act.” Predictably, Crow denied he’d brought up relevant court cases with Thomas, but is there really a way to be sure?
Clarence Thomas’ repeated ethical lapses & conflicts of interest have permanently undermined his ability to do his job and he therefore must resign.
Yet another reason why SCOTUS must be subject to ethics regulations with an independent investigatory body for alleged violations. https://t.co/0UIl9fLmkM
— Rep. Dan Goldman (@RepDanGoldman) April 6, 2023
