Hi,
The Supreme Court just began its new term amid a massive cloud of scandal,
and one of the biggest cases on the docket could hand huge tax breaks to
corporations like Apple, Microsoft, Google, and Goldman Sachs.
And now we’ve learned that Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel
Alito personally own stock in 19 companies that could gain nearly $30
billion from a favorable ruling.^1
If these justices followed basic judicial ethics, they would recuse
themselves in cases where they stand to benefit financially, but Roberts
and Alito have proven they won’t step aside unless they’re forced to — and
that’s where we come in.
Demand Progress has launched a major public campaign calling out the
justices for failing to recuse themselves and demanding Congress take
action to pass a mandatory code of ethics for the Supreme Court. Now’s the
time to turn up the pressure.
[ [link removed] ]Will you make a donation to help stop the Supreme Court’s corruption
and push for other reforms?
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In Moore v. U.S., the Supreme Court is being asked to give a $350 billion
tax windfall to the nation’s wealthiest corporations and individuals by
declaring a key provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
unconstitutional.
In addition, the case could result in all wealth taxes being declared
unconstitutional, at the same time that proposals like Elizabeth Warren’s
wealth tax legislation are gaining momentum with the public.^2
Meanwhile, the public has been hearing for months about Supreme Court
justices getting millions of dollars’ worth of gifts and payouts from
billionaires:
* Clarence Thomas has gotten millions of dollars’ worth of luxury gifts
and payouts from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow and others, while
helping right-wing lobbying groups with fundraising.^3
* Neil Gorsuch hid the $1.85 million sale of a property that had
languished on the market for two years to the head of a corporate law
firm that regularly argues in front of the Supreme Court.^4
* Alito secretly took a lavish, $100,000 trip to Alaska bankrolled by a
megadonor with cases before the court and gave a friendly interview to
the lawyer arguing Moore v. U.S.^5,6
* Roberts’s wife was secretly paid tens of millions of dollars by
corporate law firms that regularly argue before the Supreme Court.^7
Many of the exact people who have been shoveling money into the justices’
pockets and treating them to luxury vacations stand to benefit as a result
of this decision, and now we know that Alito and Roberts could personally
enrich themselves by boosting the value of the stock they hold.
With all these scandals coming to a head and the Supreme Court about to
hear a case that could directly profit so many of the justices personally
as well as their many wealthy benefactors, this is the perfect time to
mobilize political pressure and demand Congress pass the Supreme Court
Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act.
[ [link removed] ]Will you donate $10 to Demand Progress Action and support
our work, including pushing for a Supreme Court code of ethics?
With gratitude for all that you do,
Tihi and the team at Demand Progress Action
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Sources:
1. The Lever, "Justices Have Financial Interest In Major Tax Case,"
[ [link removed] ]September 27, 2023.
2. Tax Policy Center, "Prospects for 'Moore' Damage to Our Tax Code,"
[ [link removed] ]July 3, 2023.
3. Forbes, "Clarence Thomas: Here Are All The Ethics Scandals Involving
The Supreme Court Justice Amid Koch Network Revelations," [ [link removed] ]September
22, 2023.
4. Politico, "Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property," [ [link removed] ]April 25,
2023.
5. The New York Times, "Justice Alito Defends Private Jet Travel to Luxury
Fishing Trip," [ [link removed] ]June 21, 2023.
6. Forbes, "Samuel Alito Refuses To Recuse From Supreme Court Case With
Attorney Who Interviewed Him For Wall Street Journal," [ [link removed] ]September 8,
2023.
7. The New York Times, "At the Supreme Court, Ethics Questions Over a
Spouse’s Business Ties," [ [link removed] ]January 31, 2023.
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