A new report by Democratic senators reveals additional unreported luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas, prompting calls for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. Despite the adoption of a code of ethics in 2023, the court's lack of enforcement mechanisms raises concerns about ethical standards.
A nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce a new code of conduct .Any movement on the issue appears unlikely as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January, underscoring the hurdles in imposing restrictions on a separate branch of government even as public confidence in the court has fallen to record lows.
The 93-page report released Saturday by the Democratic majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee found additional travel taken in 2021 by Thomas but not reported on his annual financial disclosure form: a private jet flight to New York's Adirondacks in July and a jet and yacht trip to New York City sponsored by billionaire Harlan Crow in October, one of more than two dozen times detailed in the report that Thomas took luxury travel and gifts from wealthy benefactors.The court adopted its first code of ethics in 2023, but it leaves compliance to each of the nine justices.“The highest court in the land can’t have the lowest ethical standards,” the committee chairman, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, said in a statement. He has long called for an enforceable code of ethics.Republicans protested the subpoenas authorized for Crow and others as part of the investigation. No Republicans signed on to the final report, and no formal report from them was expected.Attorney Mark Paoletta, a longtime friend of Thomas who has been tapped for the incoming Trump administration, said the report was aimed at conservatives whose rulings Democrats disagreed with.“This entire investigation was never about ‘ethics’ but about trying to undermine the Supreme Court,' Paoletta said in a statement posted on X.The court did not immediately respond to a request for commen
Supreme Court Ethics Justice Clarence Thomas Code Of Conduct Congressional Investigation
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Senate report: Justice Thomas' undisclosed luxury travels, calls for stricter ethics codeA nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Read more »
Senate report: Justice Thomas' undisclosed luxury travels, calls for stricter ethics codeA nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Read more »
Senate report: Justice Thomas' undisclosed luxury travels, calls for stricter ethics codeA nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Read more »
Senate report: Justice Thomas' undisclosed luxury travels, calls for stricter ethics codeA nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Read more »
Senate report: Justice Thomas' undisclosed luxury travels, calls for stricter ethics codeA nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Read more »
Senate report: Justice Thomas' undisclosed luxury travels, calls for stricter ethics codeA nearly two-year investigation by Democratic senators of Supreme Court ethics details more luxury travel by Justice Clarence Thomas.
Read more »