Corrupt Clarence Thomas Must Be Stopped – Pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act!
Petition to Congress:
We urge you to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act. The slew of corruption scandals around Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and other Supreme Court justices makes it clear that our nation’s highest court must be bound by a code of ethics.
Corruption doesn’t get more explicit than this: several high-powered lawyers with Supreme Court business sent direct, cash payments to Justice Clarence Thomas’ aide via Venmo, according to a new report from The Guardian.1
Among those issuing Venmo payments to Thomas’ aide was a lawyer who just successfully argued the case in front of the Supreme Court that ended affirmative action in higher education. Another had played a key role in a SCOTUS case that gutted the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and one served as White House deputy counsel under Donald Trump at the time of the payment. 1
The news comes after months of revelations about Justice Thomas’ ethics scandals, including his lavish holidays with right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow. Senate Democrats are finally fighting back, and this week could advance the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, which would finally impose a SCOTUS code of ethics.2
The lawyers’ payments to Thomas’ aides were labeled as some variation of “Christmas party” or “Thomas Christmas Party.” Whether the payments were actually for a Christmas party or not is unclear. But as Richard Painter–an ethics lawyer in the George W Bush administration–noted, “His Christmas party should not be paid for by lawyers. A federal government employee collecting money from lawyers for any reason…I don’t see how that works.”1
Earlier this year, ProPublica revealed Justice Thomas’ cozy relationship with billionaire and right-wing megadonor Harlan Crow. Crow gifted travel worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, bought Thomas’ mother’s home, and paid for the judge’s great-nephew’s private school education. Thomas never disclosed Crow’s costly gifts, and never recused himself when Crow had business before the court.3
Thomas is far from alone on the court in his corruption scandals. Last month, ProPublica reported on Justice Samuel Alito accepting undisclosed lavish gifts and travel from hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer.4 Similar ethics scandals have now emerged about every conservative Supreme Court Justice.
The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal and Transparency Act would finally require SCOTUS justices to follow an ethics code, strengthen restrictions on judicial gifts and privately funded travel, and overhaul the broken recusal process.2 A key Senate committee is considering the legislation this week, and we need to build the pressure to pass a SCOTUS code of ethics now.
Sources:
- The Guardian, “Lawyers with supreme court business paid Clarence Thomas aide via Venmo,” July 12, 2023.
- U.S. Congress, “S.359 - Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023,” February 9, 2023.
- ProPublica, “Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire,” April 6, 2023.
- ProPublica, “Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court,” June 20, 2023.