CONGRESS MUST INVESTIGATE JUSTICE THOMAS’ LATEST ETHICS BREACH

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 6, 2022) — This morning, news broke that Justice Clarence Thomas has for two decades violated financial disclosure rules to enjoy lavish trips funded by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. As ProPublica reports, “The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.”

“Supreme Court justices have some of the least strict ethics rules of any public officials, and Clarence Thomas can’t even meet that extremely low bar. If he can’t be trusted to follow even the most basic rules of conduct, how can anyone trust him to interpret the most important laws of the land?” asks Sarah Lipton-Lubet, president of Take Back the Court Action Fund. “How many of Crow’s pet interests have had business in front of the Court while Thomas was enjoying the lifestyle of the rich and famous on the right-wing megadonor’s dime? Thomas’ repeated mockery of basic ethical standards calls into question every decision he has imposed on millions of Americans. It’s time for Congress to step up and investigate this latest evidence of corruption. The American public’s waning trust in the Court’s integrity depends on it.”

Take Back the Court recently launched the Supreme Court Accountability Project — an effort to shine a spotlight on the myriad conflicts of interest, political activities, and other ethical transgressions and potentially corrupt behaviors committed by Supreme Court justices.

###