John,
Public trust in the Supreme Court is at an all-time low, and we need to ensure the Supreme Court is following basic ethics standards.
You’ve already heard the news that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife Ginni Thomas was involved in the January 6 plot to overthrow our government, and that Justice Thomas refuses to recuse himself from cases related to January 6.1
Then this week, ProPublica reported that Justice Thomas has been accepting luxury vacations paid for by a billionaire Republican donor for over 20 years without disclosing them — potentially breaking the law.2
In addition, Chief Justice John Roberts also has a serious ethics conflict due to the work of his spouse, Jane Roberts. The New York Times recently reported that Jane Roberts, a legal recruiter, has earned millions in commissions for recruiting attorneys for jobs at law firms, which include firms that have cases before the Supreme Court. A significant portion of Jane Roberts' clients are senior government lawyers whom she helps place at private law firms.3
Chief Justice Roberts has failed to recuse himself from a single case involving law firms working with his spouse. He also has not fully disclosed his wife’s clients or her earnings. This is a clear conflict of interest for Chief Justice Roberts, and yet more evidence that we need a strong code of ethics for SCOTUS.
Following the revelations about the ethics violations of Justice Thomas and Chief Justice Roberts, now is the time to pass the Supreme Court Ethics Act (S. 325), led by Rep. Hank Johnson and Sen. Chris Murphy.4 Add your name: The Supreme Court must be made to follow basic ethics standards.
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Thank you,
LeftNet
Sources:
1. NPR
2. ProPublica
3. The New York Times
4. The Hill
