Democrats and their media allies have worked hard in recent years to neutralize the conservative justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on the U.S. Supreme Court. All of these efforts, including those by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D.R.I.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), have failed because of the resilience of the justices and the relentless nature of Democratic attacks. It ended in vain. Thomas filed a complaint with the Justice Department about possible violations of the Government Ethics Act of 1978, but was blocked by the U.S. Judicial Conference on Thursday.
Thomas and his relatives reportedly sold an old one-story house and two vacant lots in Savannah, Georgia, in 2014 at market value to one of Texas billionaire Harlan Crowe's companies. Crowe, a family friend of Thomas's for more than 20 years, said In a statement, he said his intention was to “someday create a public museum in Thomas' home dedicated to telling the story of our nation's second black Supreme Court Justice, who was born in Pinpoint, Georgia, and later raised in Savannah.” ” he said.
ProPublica — an organization of investigative journalists Donation received From Laurene Powell Jobs and her left-wing Emerson Collective, George Soros' Open Society Foundation, and the Crankstart Foundation, the family foundation of Lincoln Project donor Michael Moritz. published The April 13, 2023 report suggests that Thomas may have violated the law by not disclosing the sale of real estate by his family. federal disclosure law In the process.
“Possible violations of disclosure laws by Supreme Court staff merit serious investigation.”
ProPublica too made a fuss The judge said in 2019 Crowe negligently failed to include in financial documents that he provided meals and lodging at both a hotel in Indonesia and a private club in California the same year. Thomas then noticed These are listed in his 2023 financial disclosure report.
Just as Democrats later used the New York Times' strategic reporting on the flag to attack Justice Alito, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Hank Johnson quickly weaponized ProPublica's reporting. Penning He sent a letter to the Judicial Conference dated April 14, 2023, requesting that Thomas be referred to Attorney General Merrick Garland for investigation.
Democrats suggested there was “reasonable cause to believe that Judge Thomas intentionally failed to provide information required to be reported under the Government Ethics Act of 1978.”
“Judge Thomas' failure to report this transaction is part of a clear pattern of non-compliance with disclosure requirements,” the letter said. “Possible violations of the Freedom of Information Act by Supreme Court staff merit serious investigation. It is long past time for the Supreme Court to align with the rest of government on ethics requirements.”
Simultaneously with the publication of the White House and Johnson letter, the New York Times Editorial Board ran A condemnatory work that reflects both plagued by scandal The left-wing group Fix the Court called the Supreme Court “the most unaccountable part of government,” and Democratic lawmakers called for the high court to establish an ethics office.
Democratic lawmakers received a response this week after waiting 20 months. Apparently unfazed by the letter and the Times editorial, Robert Conrad, Jr., a senior Article III federal judge and executive director of the Judicial Conference in the Western District of North Carolina, effectively called White He told House and Johnson that their claims were correct. No problem, pound the sand.
conrad noticed He said in Thursday's letter that financial disclosure requirements for law enforcement agencies have been in flux in recent years.
For example, in early 2023, the Financial Disclosure Board issued guidance that the reporting exemption for personal entertainment gifts only applies to meals, lodging, and entertainment, such as those received by Mr. Thomas from Crowe in 2019. did. Regarding disclosures regarding gifts of transportation expenses, Mr. Conrad noted that the Commission issued guidance in March 2023 that eliminated the need for retroactive application beyond 2022.
“In fact, this provision contains suggestions to the contrary.”
Mr. Conrad said Mr. Thomas “has filed an amended financial disclosure report that addresses several of the issues identified in your letter.” “We have agreed to comply with relevant guidance, including guidance from I can't believe he did anything less. ”
He also said it was not entirely clear whether the Judicial Council's referral powers applied to Supreme Court justices, saying: “There are reasons to doubt whether the Judicial Council has such powers.” Ta.
“Congress should at least make such a directive clear, since the Judicial Conference does not have oversight over the Supreme Court, and any effort to give it such authority would raise serious constitutional problems. would be expected to state the following,” Conrad wrote. “However, there is no such express instruction in this clause. In fact, this clause contains suggestions to the contrary.”
Conrad suggested that the Democrats' request may not only be legally unenforceable, but also uncontroversial given the opinions of lawmakers. direct appeal He asked Garland on July 3 to have a special counsel investigate these issues.
in another letterthe Judicial Conference rejected a similar request from the Center for American Renewal to refer Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Department of Justice. We're screwed The lawsuit demanded that she “disclose necessary information regarding her husband's medical malpractice consulting income over a period of more than 10 years.” Conrad noted that Jackson amended her disclosure to include income from her husband, which had previously been omitted.
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