John, it seems like every day, Justice Clarence Thomas’ ethical issues get worse.
Here’s what we’ve learned – just in the past few weeks:
- GOP mega donor and billionaire Harlan Crow paid for Thomas’ grandnephew to go to school – thousands of dollars in private school tuition for a child that Thomas was “raising as a son” [1] …
- Leonard Leo, a prominent leader of the Federalist Society, secretly directed tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas’ wife through the same nonprofit group that, later that year, went on to file a brief in the disastrous, anti-voter Shelby County v. Holder case that gutted the Voting Rights Act [2]…
- And this deluge of corruption news all came in the wake of a bombshell ProPublica report revealing that Clarence Thomas has been going on undisclosed luxury vacations on Harlan Crow’s dime [3].
Why are wealthy right-wing donors giving the Thomas family so much money – and what are they getting in return? We can’t let these massive ethical questions go unanswered – but without a Supreme Court code of conduct, we have no way to ensure our justices are acting with integrity, impartiality, and respect for the law.
Our highest court cannot be its own referee when it comes to its ethics. Tell Congress to pass a Supreme Court code of conduct. >>
The Supreme Court’s status quo is unacceptable, John. Ordinary civil servants are held to much higher standards to avoid even the appearance of corruption.
But somehow, the justices whose decisions affect the lives of millions of Americans are free to accept hugely valuable gifts from people with a clear agenda to shape the courts.
Every day these scandals go unaddressed – with no meaningful oversight to prevent further misconduct – they chip away at the public’s trust in Justice Thomas, the Supreme Court, and our democracy.
But, John, this scandal is just one symptom of a bigger problem. We need a binding, comprehensive code of conduct to prevent even the appearance of inappropriate influence on the court.
Without it, our highest court will continue to suffer a crisis of confidence – even as these nine justices make decisions that affect every one of us every day.
That’s deeply problematic. Like all other federal judges, the Supreme Court should be bound by a code of conduct to stop these potential conflicts of interest from threatening the institution's integrity.
Add your name if you agree: Congress must pass a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court – and ensure that our highest court is held to the highest ethical standards.
We deserve a Supreme Court we can trust. I’m glad to have you with us in this fight for more ethical courts.
Thanks for all you do,
Stephen Spaulding, Vice President for Policy & External Affairs
and the team at Common Cause
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[1] https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
[2] https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/05/04/leonard-leo-clarence-ginni-thomas-conway/
