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Hi,
First we learned that millions of dollars were flooding from corporations and right-wing lobbyists into a nonprofit organization affiliated with the Supreme Court in an effort to gain access and influence the justices.1
Now The New York Times has revealed that Chief Justice John Roberts’s wife has been getting paid millions of dollars in commissions by corporations with dozens of cases before the court for work as a high-powered legal headhunter.2
None of this money was publicly disclosed because there’s no code of ethics requiring justices to report this kind of income.
It's clear the Supreme Court simply cannot be trusted to police itself. We've mobilized more than 200,000 people to urge Congress to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, which would require the Supreme Court to follow basic rules of disclosure and recusal in cases where there is a conflict of interest.
Now we need to raise enough money to really turn up the heat.
The latest bombshell revelations show how Jane Roberts, the wife of the chief justice, capitalized on her D.C. insider credentials to rake in six-figure commissions from corporate law firms.
We don't know all the money she got, but, thanks to a whistleblower, we know that the total was in the millions, and her clients included one firm that argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court.3
This comes on the heels of another bombshell investigation from the Times, detailing how a little-known charity connected to the court called the Supreme Court Historical Society has been raising millions from right-wing special interests, including Big Oil, Wall Street banks, drug companies, and anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ groups.4
The nine justices of the Supreme Court are appointed for life, and despite their virtually unchecked power, they are exempt from the code of ethics that applies to all other federal judges.5
At a time when the Supreme Court is in the process of gutting decades of precedent on voting rights, abortion rights, civil rights, and countless other major issues affecting Americans' lives, Congress must finally act and impose a code of ethics on the justices.
With gratitude for all that you do,
Tihi and the team at Demand Progress Action
Sources:
1. The New York Times, "A Charity Tied to the Supreme Court Offers Donors Access to the Justices," January 1, 2023.
2. The New York Times, "At the Supreme Court, Ethics Questions Over a Spouse’s Business Ties," January 31, 2023.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
5. Brennan Center for Justice, "Brennan Center Urges Supreme Court Justices to Adopt a Code of Ethics," September 24, 2019.
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