Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Not Referred for Ethics Violations
WASHINGTON — The federal courts have decided not to refer allegations concerning Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s potential violations of ethics laws to the Justice Department. This announcement came from the judiciary’s policymaking body on Thursday.
Justice Thomas has committed to adhering to updated requirements for reporting trips and gifts, which now include clearer guidelines regarding hospitality from friends. This information was communicated by the U.S. Judicial Conference to Democratic senators who had requested an investigation into the undisclosed acceptance of luxury trips.
Previously, Thomas stated he was not obligated to disclose numerous trips taken by him and his wife, which were funded by affluent benefactors such as Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, citing their close personal friendship as the reason. The Supreme Court did not provide a comment when contacted on Thursday.
In response to ongoing scrutiny, the Supreme Court introduced its first code of ethics in 2023. However, this new code still lacks a mechanism for enforcement.
U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad, who serves as secretary for the U.S. Judicial Conference, noted that it remains unclear whether the law permits the U.S. Judicial Conference to make a criminal referral concerning a Supreme Court justice. He stated that a referral is not necessary in this instance, as two Democratic senators had previously urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel over the summer, but no such appointment has been made public.
The organization Fix the Court emphasized that the financial disclosure law is explicit and should be applicable to justices. Executive Director Gabe Roth remarked, “The Conference’s letters further underscore the need for Congress to create a new and transparent mechanism to investigate the justices for ethics violations, as the Conference is unwilling to act on the one method we had presumed existed to do that.”
Judge Conrad also addressed a separate complaint from a conservative legal group, the Center for Renewing America, regarding Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s disclosures about her husband’s consulting income. Jackson has since revised her disclosures and has agreed to the updated reporting requirements, as noted by Conrad.
