John, the American people deserve a Supreme Court we can trust – because our highest court should meet the highest ethical standards.
But right now, I’m worried we might miss a crucial opportunity to make that a reality. You see, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin was asked this weekend why he hadn’t yet invited Justice Clarence Thomas to testify under oath at an upcoming Senate hearing on Supreme Court ethics.
Senator Durbin replied: “I think I know what would happen to that invitation. It would be ignored.” [1]
John, that’s simply not good enough. If the Senate is going to get to the bottom of what’s happening here, we can’t let Justice Thomas dodge these questions any longer. Please add your name today: Justice Thomas needs to testify!
It seems like every day, new details come out about Justice Thomas’s relationship with Harlan Crow – a Republican megadonor who has lavished hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and luxury vacations on Justice Thomas. [2]
Every day this scandal goes unaddressed, it chips away at the public’s trust in Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court, and our democracy as a whole. We deserve courts that are fair, impartial, and independent – not driven by personal biases or financial incentives or the appearance of anything like that.
Senators have already taken some positive steps in response – like asking Chief Justice John Roberts to testify (as we asked in our letter [3]), and introducing legislation to hold the Supreme Court to the same high ethical standards that every judge in the country needs to follow. [4]
But if we don’t act immediately, we’ll be missing a major opportunity for accountability. Justice Thomas’s defenders are hoping this story passes out of the headlines without him needing to explain himself. Senator Durbin and his committee can’t let that happen.
Remember, this is bigger than Justice Thomas. The Supreme Court makes decisions that affect millions of people -- which means even the possibility of anything besides the pursuit of law and justice influencing their decisions needs to be nipped in the bud.
Chairman Durbin and his committee have the power and the duty to do just that – can you add your name to let him know the American people are demanding accountability?
Common Cause has spent years demanding high ethical standards for the Supreme Court. Why? Because the decisions they make have huge impacts on our lives – and we deserve to know they’re doing so in a way we can trust. Your action today can help make that possible.
Thanks for all you do,
Stephen Spaulding, Vice President for Policy & External Affairs
and the team at Common Cause
[1] https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/23/dick-durbin-clarence-thomas-supreme-court-ethics-00093404
[2] https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
[3] https://www.commoncause.org/resource/letters-justice-clarence-thomas-alleged-conflicts-of-interest/
[4] https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/durbin-joins-colleagues-in-reintroducing-bicameral-bill-requiring-supreme-court-justices-to-follow-code-of-ethics