August 10, 2023 11:24 AM UTC

Darkening Clouds Over SCOTUS Need Clearing

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• by: Colorado Pols

The Supreme Court of the United States of America has been stuck in an ethical morass that continues to grow more problematic as more information becomes available. No other Supreme Court Justice epitomizes the corruption that is beginning to define SCOTUS more than Clarence Thomas, whose acceptance of lavish gifts and his blatant disregard for following any sort of ethical guidelines has prompted the U.S. Senate to attempt forcing new ethical rules on the highest court in the land.

While Democrats in the Senate are moving forward with trying to police a court that refuses to police itself, Congressional Republicans remain staunchly opposed to any sort of action that might detract from the conservative court’s ability to remake American society. But a devastating new report from ProPublica shows that ethical reforms of SCOTUS are needed now more than ever:

Like clockwork, Thomas’ leisure activities have been underwritten by benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence. Their gifts include:

At least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.

This accounting of Thomas’ travel, revealed for the first time here from an array of previously unavailable information, is the fullest to date of the generosity that has regularly afforded Thomas a lifestyle far beyond what his income could provide. And it is almost certainly an undercount. [Pols emphasis]

While some of the hospitality, such as stays in personal homes, may not have required disclosure, Thomas appears to have violated the law by failing to disclose flights, yacht cruises and expensive sports tickets, according to ethics experts.

Perhaps even more significant, the pattern exposes consistent violations of judicial norms, experts, including seven current and former federal judges appointed by both parties, told ProPublica. “In my career I don’t remember ever seeing this degree of largesse given to anybody,” said Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge who served for years on the judicial committee that reviews judges’ financial disclosures. “I think it’s unprecedented.” [Pols emphasis]

What Thomas is doing in accepting lavish gifts and ignoring ethical questions looks even worse considering that some members of the Court still do take their ethical responsibilities seriously. Margaret McMullan recently wrote about inviting Justice Sonia Sotomayor to talk to kids at the Mississippi Book Festival about her recent book “Turning Pages,” that was written for an audience of children ages 4 to 8. As McMullan explained in The Washington Post:

Le said she would get back to me.

And she did, with a few more questions — details about flight connections, book-signing and so on. I said we would be happy to upgrade her flight. Nope, the publisher was handling her flight. I said we’d be happy to upgrade her hotel room. Nope, the justice was fine with a Marriott, plus her security detail was familiar with the layout.

So far, so good.

Subsequent emails and phone conversations were similar. No, Le said, the justice did not need us to provide lunch or dinner. No, she could not accept the $250 stipend.

Did Le urge me to buy more books? No. She did ask whether we wanted any of the copies of “My Beloved World” to be in Spanish. In fact, we did, and I hadn’t thought to order them.

As McMullan concludes, “There very well might be a culture of poor ethical conduct in the Supreme Court, but there is no moral equivalency between justices accepting rides on private jets to vacation with friends who had cases before the court and Sotomayor talking about her books and her life to a crowd of mesmerized young readers.”

The actions of Sotomayor are a stark contrast to the ethical lapses demonstrated by Thomas and another Republican-appointed Justice, Neil Gorsuch. We should expect more from the members of the Supreme Court, but Republicans…just don’t.