A ProPublica story detailing U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas not disclosing opulent vacations from major Republican donor Harlan Crow over the years has been met with renewed calls from Minnesota Democrats for Congress to take action.
Justice Thomas controversy renews calls from Minnesota Democrats for change
ProPublica reported that Thomas did not disclose vacations from a wealthy Republican donor.
April 15, 2023 at 7:00PM
"The news that a sitting Supreme Court Justice has been privately accepting luxury trips from wealthy Republican donors is just the latest piece of evidence that the Supreme Court is badly in need of reform, and I hope that it helps convince some of my colleagues that we need to expand the Court," Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith said in a statement.
Smith signed onto a bill in 2021 that would have added four justices, but the legislation languished despite Democrats controlling the U.S. Senate.
Thomas has defended himself, saying in a statement that "early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable."
"I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," Thomas said. "These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future."
"I think the highest court in the land should also be subject to the highest ethical standards in the land, and anybody who holds public office should as well," Phillips said. "So I think Congress should be taking a look at the ethical standards as it relates to the Supreme Court."
Thomas faced outcry last year after the Washington Post and CBS reported his wife's involvement in the GOP movement that tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again: Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached," Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar posted on Twitter after the ProPublica story broke.
Minnesota Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and the other Democratic lawmakers on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee signed on to a recent letter pushing for Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to launch an investigation on Thomas' conduct.
"We need a clear and enforceable code of ethics that applies to the Supreme Court," Klobuchar said in a statement. "The Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on the need for ethical standards for justices on the Supreme Court, and I will keep pushing to pass these much needed reforms into law."
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On Thursday, ProPublica published another story reporting that in 2014 a Crow company bought property, including the home of the justice's mother, from Thomas and family co-owners. The news outlet wrote that the sale was not reported by Thomas on a financial disclosure.
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