Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee condemned the Supreme Court docket for an “ethical crisis of its own making” in a brand new report launched Saturday.
The report follows Democrats’ 20-month investigation into the courtroom’s ethics, spurred by ProPublica stories final 12 months detailing how Justice Clarence Thomas accepted varied luxurious presents and journeys from a billionaire whereas on the courtroom.
Specifically, the bulk workers report critiques Thomas, Justice Samuel Alito and the late Justice Antonin Scalia, all distinguished conservative justices, claiming they violated their authorized obligations by not disclosing presents or failing to recuse from sure instances.
“Any claim that the Court can adequately police itself is belied by the fact that the Court has not taken meaningful action to address ethical misconduct and no justice has faced consequences for unethical behavior—despite dozens of credible allegations of misconduct by multiple justices over decades,” the report states.
“An enforceable code of conduct for the Supreme Court is essential in light of the Court’s failure to police itself,” it continued.
Democrats have pushed the Supreme Court docket to strengthen its ethics requirements for years, however revelations of Thomas’s journeys and different ethics controversies sparked renewed curiosity as public belief within the courtroom plummeted.
“The number, value, and extravagance of the gifts accepted by Justice Thomas have no comparison in modern American history,” the report states, critiquing the judiciary’s policymaking physique for not taking additional corrective motion.
Thomas has denied wrongdoing and stated he was not beforehand obligated to reveal the journeys below a private hospitality exception that has since been clarified.
In response to the stress, the justices in the end adopted an announcement of moral ideas final November. Democrats have criticized it for together with no binding enforcement mechanism, versus the code in place for different federal judges.
The brand new report reups Democrats’ calls to move laws that may create an enforceable ethics code. Republicans blocked the invoice, expressing confidence within the justices to police their very own ethics and consider Democrats’ investigation as a partisan try to tear down the conservative-majority courtroom.
Thomas and the opposite justices didn’t return a request for remark despatched to a courtroom spokesperson.
Mark Paoletta, an in depth good friend of Thomas whom President-elect Trump has chosen for a senior position within the Workplace of Administration and Funds, referred to as the report “pathetic” and criticized Democrats for releasing it the Saturday earlier than Christmas.
“When they come back, they will thankfully be in the minority. Good riddance,” Paoletta wrote on X.
