Every federal judge in this country is bound by a code of ethics that prevents blatant conflicts of interest. All except the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court. The highest court in the land has the lowest ethical standards, and it comes at a cost to the rule of law and the legitimacy of the Court.
And now, as Daily Kos' Laura Clawson writes, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is at the center of yet another ethics scandal: “A ProPublica investigation finds that for more than two decades, Thomas has been accepting lavish vacations from real estate billionaire Harlan Crow. And while the Supreme Court is not bound by the code of conduct that requires other federal judges to avoid even the “appearance of impropriety,” it is bound by a law requiring the disclosure of gifts over $415.”
Despite Thomas’ claims, the ethically-challenged justice's flights on Crow’s private jet, vacations on his 162-foot yacht, and annual stays in his private resort likely violate the disclosure requirements.
This is yet another egregious example of Thomas acting as though he is above the laws he’s sworn to uphold, with little regard to ethics, and as though he is immune from consequences. For Americans to believe in the legitimacy of the highest court in the country, we need impartial jurists who are free from undue political influence. Unethical justices like Thomas undermine public trust and must be held accountable when they abuse their power.
Sign the petition: Impeach Justice Clarence Thomas.
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Thomas has a litany of potential conflicts of interest, many of which involve his wife, Ginni, a political strategist and lobbyist who allegedly joined him on these lavish, undisclosed vacations.
RELATED STORY: Clarence Thomas allegedly broke one of the few ethics laws that apply to the Supreme Court
You may remember that in a 2011 speech at an event sponsored by the ultra right-wing Federalist Society (often referred to as "enemies of decency" in my household), Thomas described their partnership as “equally yoked.”
Thomas continued to rule on cases directly related to the insurrection, including Donald Trump’s attempt to block the House Jan. 6 committee from getting White House documents—where he was the only justice to dissent—while Ginni advocated for overturning the 2020 election.
Thomas has also failed to recuse himself when he faced other clear conflicts of interest. In 2000, he joined the majority in Bush v. Gore, handing the presidency to George W. Bush while his wife was actively aiding Bush’s transition team. In 2012, he participated in the first challenge to the Affordable Care Act—even as his wife was being paid to repeal the bill. And in 2017, he ruled to uphold Trump’s cruel Muslim travel ban while Ginni Thomas received funding from one of the organizations that urged the court to uphold it.
This scandal is but "the latest indication of the extent to which wealthy and corporate interests have sought to influence our highest Court," writes the judicial advocacy group Alliance for Justice, in a statement demanding Thomas' resignation. "Their efforts appear to have been a success, given Justice Thomas has repeatedly ruled in favor of the wealthy and powerful. According to the Constitutional Accountability Center, Thomas has ruled in favor of the Chamber of Commerce’s position in cases 72% of the time. He also notably refused to recuse himself from the 2016 case McDonnell v. United States, which specifically examined the criminality of political leaders accepting gifts from conservative donors."
One of the highest legal authorities in the country has demonstrated a pattern of contempt for the rule of law. Thomas' flagrant behavior is inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Supreme Court Justice whose rulings influence the course of history. We cannot allow this extraordinary display of corruption and lawbreaking to go unanswered.
RELATED STORY: The rot in the Supreme Court goes beyond Clarence and Ginni Thomas
The judiciary as a whole, and the Supreme Court especially, needs far stronger ethical rules and enforcement. While we work on improving the guardrails of our democracy, Thomas must be impeached immediately.
Sign the petition: Impeach Justice Clarence Thomas.