Justice Clarence Thomas has been under ongoing scrutiny by activists and
members of Congress for what appear to be numerous ethical lapses and a failure to report hundreds of thousands of dollars on financial disclosure forms.
Now 20 members of Congress have called for an official investigation into that non-disclosure. That investigation could lead to a further investigation by the Department of Justice.
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Louise Slaughter, Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, together with 19 Members of Congress, today sent a letter to the Judicial Conference, requesting that the Conference follow the law and refer the matter of Justice Clarence Thomas's non-compliance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to the Department of Justice.[...]
Section 104(b) of the Ethics in Government Act requires the Judicial Conference to refer to the Attorney General of the United States any judge who the Conference "has reasonable cause to believe has willfully failed to file a report or has willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information required to be reported."
If the Judicial Conference finds reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas has "willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information to be reported," it must, pursuant to §104, refer the case to the Attorney General for further determination of possible criminal or civil legal sanctions.
The congress members point to recent reports, including the detailed article in the New York Times of the numerous gifts from conservative activist Harlan Crow, the nearly $700,000 his wife earned from the Heritage Foundation from 2003-2007 and as founder of a tea party organization. They say, "Due to the simplicity of the disclosure requirements, along with Justice Thomas's high level of legal training and experience, it is reasonable to infer that his failure to disclose his wife's income for two decades was willful, and the Judicial Conference has a non-discretionary duty to refer this case to the Department of Justice."
One of the institutional problems with the Supreme Court is that the Judicial Conference Code of Conduct that all other federal judges must abide by doesn't apply to Supreme Court Justices. But the Conference can act, and these congressional Democrats are demanding they do so. Stay tuned, because things could get very interesting for Justice Thomas.
