| Friend, Did you hear? Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni took *yet another* secret trip on the private jet of GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.(1) The Thomases already face intense criticism for living a life of untold luxury on Crow’s dime. The billionaire has wined and dined them and spirited them on extravagant vacations for decades, almost entirely in secret. Now, we’re learning about a lavish excursion from Hawaii to New Zealand. At this point, we can’t say we’re surprised -- but we’re still outraged. It's simply not okay for justices to accept expensive trips and gifts, refuse to recuse themselves from cases in which they’re conflicted, and undo generations of legal precedent to satisfy wealthy right-wing donors. Yet that’s exactly what Trump’s MAGA Supreme Court has been doing with impunity.
Thomas is by no means alone. Every single conservative justice on this court has raised ethical flags(2,3) -- all while upending our basic constitutional rights on everything from reproductive freedom to preventing school shootings. Of all the scandals rocking the nation’s highest court, perhaps none is more serious than the failure of Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito to recuse themselves from cases involving January 6, even though they’ve displayed clear bias in favor of Trump’s attempted coup. Ginni Thomas helped orchestrate the riot. Alito flew a MAGA flag outside his home. It’s no wonder these justices ruled that neither Trump nor the insurrectionist mob should face consequences for all of their actions that day.(4,5) It’s long past time we enact commonsense reforms to rein in this out-of-control MAGA court, just as President Biden has proposed. Justices should serve staggered, 18-year terms -- not lifetime appointments. And the Supreme Court should be subject to the same enforceable code of ethics that applies to every other federal government employee. These aren’t radical ideas, and they enjoy widespread public support -- even among Republicans.(6) That’s why, if enough of us raise our voices, we can get this done. Yes, I’ll demand Congress enact commonsense Supreme Court reforms once and for all. Yours in the fight for an ethical Supreme Court! –Irene, Annie, Angela, Isidra, Mario, Marvin, Alyssa, Jen, Cecilia, and Lindsay (the Courage team)
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