Clarence Thomas corruption

[Copernicus]

Leonard Leo: Conservative legal activist rebuffs Democratic request for information on fishing trip with Justice Samuel Alito | CNN Politics

In a scathing letter Tuesday to key Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Leo’s lawyer said the congressional inquiry “exceeds the limits placed by the Constitution on the Committee’s investigative authority” and is tainted by partisan politics. ProPublica first reported the trip, which Alito did not include on his financial disclosure forms.

“By selectively targeting Mr. Leo for investigation on a politically charged basis, while ignoring other potential sources of information on the asserted topic of interest who are similarly situated to Mr. Leo but have different political views that are more consistent with those of the Committee majority, your inquiry appears to be political retaliation against a private citizen in violation of the First Amendment,” the lawyer, David B. Rivkin Jr., wrote.

What a big baby.

What stood out to me in that letter was that Leo has been painted as being one of the chief architects in a conspiracy to politicize SCOTUS rulings, and his attorney affirms in writing that the court majority is aligned with his client's political views. Not his judicial philosophy. His politics.

Leo's lawyer is thumbing his nose at Congress, knowing full well that there is no political majority in both houses that will exercise any serious oversight on SCOTUS or lift a finger to stop them from doing anything they want.

 

[ZiprHead]

And the hits just keep on coming...

Clarence Thomas RV Financed By Rich Health Care Executive In Least Shocking Development Ever - Above the Law

Clarence Thomas uses his RV to bolster his everyman status. As long as 'every man' has a buddy willing to personally finance it.

abovethelaw.com

The Times looked at Title records on the RV and discovered that the vehicle — purchased while Thomas sat on the Supreme Court — was in whole or in part financed by health care executive Anthony Welters. It will shock you not at all to learn that this was not disclosed and the terms remain entirely opaque.

“Here is what I can share. Twenty-five years ago, I loaned a friend money, as I have other friends and family. We’ve all been on one side or the other of that equation. He used it to buy a recreational vehicle, which is a passion of his,” Welters told the Times in a statement.

No… this is what you chose to share. Just because he worked in health care does not make these health care records. Welters could share whatever he wants, but he’s making the affirmative choice to remain vague, noting only that “the loan was satisfied” which is pointedly not “paid off” like normal people would say in a normal conversation.

 

[Copernicus]

And the hits just keep on coming...

Clarence Thomas RV Financed By Rich Health Care Executive In Least Shocking Development Ever - Above the Law

Clarence Thomas uses his RV to bolster his everyman status. As long as 'every man' has a buddy willing to personally finance it.

abovethelaw.com

The Times looked at Title records on the RV and discovered that the vehicle — purchased while Thomas sat on the Supreme Court — was in whole or in part financed by health care executive Anthony Welters. It will shock you not at all to learn that this was not disclosed and the terms remain entirely opaque.

“Here is what I can share. Twenty-five years ago, I loaned a friend money, as I have other friends and family. We’ve all been on one side or the other of that equation. He used it to buy a recreational vehicle, which is a passion of his,” Welters told the Times in a statement.

No… this is what you chose to share. Just because he worked in health care does not make these health care records. Welters could share whatever he wants, but he’s making the affirmative choice to remain vague, noting only that “the loan was satisfied” which is pointedly not “paid off” like normal people would say in a normal conversation.

It feels more like it's the public--each and every one of us--who keeps taking the hits, not Thomas. He has a lifetime appointment to interpret our laws, and he is unaccountable to anyone but those he takes favors from.

 

[lpetrich]

Kagan worried about bagels while Clarence Thomas lived large with Harlan Crow

A group of women who went to high school with Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan wanted to send her bagels and lox from Russ & Daughters, the legendary deli on the Lower East Side. But they scrapped the plan after Kagan expressed concerns about the court’s ethics rules for reporting gifts…. The idea of sending the appetizing spread was proposed in February 2021 and abandoned soon after.

Kagan argues Congress can regulate aspects of Supreme Court | The Hill

“Can Congress do various things to regulate the Supreme Court? I think the answer is yes,” she told the crowd.
“That doesn’t say what things,” Kagan continued. “And I want to say on the other hand, can Congress do anything it wants? Well, I’m going to say no, it can’t do anything it wants. If Congress did something that effectively prevented the court from fulfilling its assigned responsibilities, I mean, that would raise some pretty serious constitutional issues.”

She declined to comment specifically on the proposal advanced by the Senate Judiciary Committee on a party-line vote last month. The bill, which has slim odds of reaching President Biden’s desk, would require the court to adopt disclosure rules for gifts, travel and income received by justices and law clerks that are as rigorous as Senate and House disclosure rules.

...
“It just can’t be that the court is the only institution that somehow is not subject to any checks and balances from anybody else,” she said. “We are not imperial, and we, too, are part of a checking and balancing system in various ways.”

noting Senate Judiciary panel advances Supreme Court ethics reform bill | The Hill
Justice Samuel Alito is having none of that.

“I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it,” Alito told the Journal. “No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period.”

EK concedes that she and her fellow Justices have “a variety of views.”

“We could decide to adopt a code of conduct of our own that either follows or decides in certain instances not to follow the standard code of conduct,” she said. “And that would remove this question of what can Congress do, or at least it would put it in a different light if Congress continued to act.”

 

[ZiprHead]

noting Senate Judiciary panel advances Supreme Court ethics reform bill | The Hill
Justice Samuel Alito is having none of that.

“I know this is a controversial view, but I’m willing to say it,” Alito told the Journal. “No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court — period.”

And there it is. Any regulation on the court is automatically unconstitutional, just as I predicted.

So we have to put up with a bunch of crooks running our court.

Would "second amendment solutions" be constitutional, Sammy? You really love the second.

 

[lpetrich]

Early this year, this was introduced:
H.R.927 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics Act. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 75 cosponsors, 1 original, all D's
S.325 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 30 cosponsors, 25 original, all D's and one I

Also early this year, this one also was introduced:
H.R.926 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 87 cosponsors, 3 original, all D's
S.359 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 27 cosponsors, 11 original, all D's and one I

This bill makes various changes related to the ethical standards, financial disclosure requirements, and recusal requirements that apply to Supreme Court Justices.

Among the changes, the bill requires the Supreme Court to

• adopt a code of conduct for Justices and establish procedures to receive and investigate complaints of judicial misconduct;
• adopt rules governing the disclosure of gifts, travel, and income received by the Justices and law clerks that are at least as rigorous as the House and Senate disclosure rules; and
• establish procedural rules requiring each party or amicus to disclose any gift, income, or reimbursement provided to Justices.

Additionally, the bill

• expands the circumstances under which a Justice or judge must be disqualified; and
• requires the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference to establish procedural rules for prohibiting the filing of or striking an amicus brief that would result in the disqualification of a Justice, judge, or magistrate judge.

The first bill is not much different from this one.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Early this year, this was introduced:
H.R.927 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics Act. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 75 cosponsors, 1 original, all D's
S.325 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics Act | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 30 cosponsors, 25 original, all D's and one I

Also early this year, this one also was introduced:
H.R.926 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 87 cosponsors, 3 original, all D's
S.359 - 118th Congress (2023-2024): Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act of 2023 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress - 27 cosponsors, 11 original, all D's and one I

This bill makes various changes related to the ethical standards, financial disclosure requirements, and recusal requirements that apply to Supreme Court Justices.

Among the changes, the bill requires the Supreme Court to

• adopt a code of conduct for Justices and establish procedures to receive and investigate complaints of judicial misconduct;
• adopt rules governing the disclosure of gifts, travel, and income received by the Justices and law clerks that are at least as rigorous as the House and Senate disclosure rules; and
• establish procedural rules requiring each party or amicus to disclose any gift, income, or reimbursement provided to Justices.

Additionally, the bill

• expands the circumstances under which a Justice or judge must be disqualified; and
• requires the Supreme Court and the Judicial Conference to establish procedural rules for prohibiting the filing of or striking an amicus brief that would result in the disqualification of a Justice, judge, or magistrate judge.

The first bill is not much different from this one.

According to Alito these could just be ruled unconstitutional.

 

[laughing dog]

Congress holds the power of the purse which includes funding the SCOTUS. I’m sure some arrangement can be made to institute some ethic standards.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Congress holds the power of the purse which includes funding the SCOTUS. I’m sure some arrangement can be made to institute some ethic standards.

They also decide how many justices there are, right?

 

[ZiprHead]

Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel

The fullest accounting yet shows how Thomas has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.

www.propublica.org

 

[lpetrich]

And the hits just keep on coming...

Clarence Thomas RV Financed By Rich Health Care Executive In Least Shocking Development Ever - Above the Law

Clarence Thomas uses his RV to bolster his everyman status. As long as 'every man' has a buddy willing to personally finance it.

abovethelaw.com

The Times looked at Title records on the RV and discovered that the vehicle — purchased while Thomas sat on the Supreme Court — was in whole or in part financed by health care executive Anthony Welters. It will shock you not at all to learn that this was not disclosed and the terms remain entirely opaque.

Justice Thomas maps own course, at wheel of his 40-foot bus | AP News - Published 2:48 AM PDT, August 6, 2020

Also from 2020, this documentary about him:

• Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words: Pack, Michael, Paoletta, Mark: 9781684512706: Amazon.com: Books
• Amazon.com: Created Equal: Clarence Thomas In His Own Words : Clarence Thomas, Joe Biden, Anita Hill, Ginni Thomas, Michael Pack, Michael Pack, Michael Pack: Prime Video
• Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words (2020) - IMDb

 

[lpetrich]

Reps. Jamie Raskin, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler, Hank Johnson and Ted Lieu Call on DOJ to Investigate Justice Thomas | Press Releases | Congressman Jamie Raskin

From the letter,

Justice Thomas’s consistent failure to disclose gifts and benefits from industry magnates and wealthy, politically active executives highlights a blatant disregard for judicial ethics as well as apparent legal violations. No individual, regardless of their position or stature, should be exempt from legal scrutiny for lawbreaking. The integrity of our judicial system hinges on the impartiality and transparency of its members. As a Supreme Court justice and high constitutional officer, Justice Thomas should be held to the highest standard, not the lowest —and he certainly shouldn’t be allowed to violate federal law. Refusing to hold him accountable would set a dangerous precedent, undermining public trust in our institutions and raising legitimate questions about the equal application of laws in our nation.

Unreported gifts like these:

* non-commercial transportation on a private airplane and on a superyacht to and from Indonesia in 2019, valued at approximately $500,000;

* non-commercial transportation on a superyacht to and around New Zealand in or around 2013; non-commercial transportation on a superyacht to and around Greece in 2007;

* extensive free lodging and food at Topridge, a resort in the Adirondacks owned by a company owned or controlled by Mr. Crow;

* multiple trips via non-commercial transportation on a private airplane on multiple occasions, including but not limited to flights to New Haven, Connecticut in 2016, to Dallas, Texas in 2018 and again in 2022, to New York City in 2021, and to Topridge Resort in New York in 2022;

* and tuition payments, in excess of $6,000 per month, to two private boarding schools for Justice Thomas’s grandnephew while he was in Justice Thomas’s legal custody.

Justice Thomas additionally failed to disclose the 2014 sale of a single-story home and two vacant lots, previously held by Justice Thomas and two family members, to Mr. Crow for $133,363, an amount significantly higher than the price of other properties in the neighborhood and significantly higher than $15,000, the amount that Justice Thomas valued his one-third stake in the properties in 2010. Mr. Crow has also permitted Justice Thomas’s mother to continue living in the home rent-free through at least May 2023, and has paid for improvements for the benefit of Justice Thomas’s mother, including construction of a car port. Both the free rent and the improvements may constitute additional gifts that Justice Thomas was required, but failed, to
disclose.

All while Harlan Crow was in the Board of Directors of the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank that sometimes files amicus briefs in Supreme Court cases. Amicus - short for amicus curiae, "friend of the court" in Latin - refers to someone outside some legal case filing a brief in that case.

 

[Copernicus]

All while Harlan Crow was in the Board of Directors of the American Enterprise Institute, a right-wing think tank that sometimes files amicus briefs in Supreme Court cases. Amicus - short for amicus curiae, "friend of the court" in Latin - refers to someone outside some legal case filing a brief in that case.

Just friendly suggestions on how to decide a case. No pressure.

 

[lpetrich]

More and more.

Second, ProPublica’s most recent reporting identifies other wealthy businessmen, in addition to Crow, who have provided Justice Thomas and his wife, Ginni, with luxury travel and other gifts, such as expensive box seats at football games and access to one of the most exclusive golf courses in the world. These include David Sokol, H. Wayne Huizenga, and Paul “Tony” Novelly, who were connected to Thomas through the Horatio Alger Association.20 As the New York Times reported, Thomas has routinely given access to the U.S. Supreme Court building for Horatio Alger events, which ProPublica confirmed cost $1,500 or more in donations per person. These arrangements appear to violate explicit language in the judiciary’s code of conduct advising federal judges against using their position as a public officer to fundraise for outside organizations.

In addition, recent reporting in the New York Times documented how Justice Thomas purchased a $267,230 luxury recreational vehicle with custom detailing and plush leather seating, financed through a private loan that he never disclosed.24 While it was asserted that the debt was “satisfied,” there is apparently no independent documentation of the loan’s repayment, or a full pay-off of the price of the RV, nor are the terms of the loan public. As tax lawyer and expert Michael Hamersley explained to the Times, “‘satisfied’ doesn’t necessarily mean someone paid the loan back.”

He went on at least 38 destination vacations, he took at least 26 private jet flights and 8 helicopter flights, he received VIP passes for sporting events, he got stays at luxury resorts, and he even got an invitation to an exclusive golf club.

Then noted that some testimony at a Senate committee "raises questions about whether Justice Thomas falsified his 2008 financial disclosure report to conceal his possible attendance at a private retreat hosted in Palm Springs, California by GOP mega donor Charles Koch."

 

[ZiprHead]

I need better friends.

 

[lpetrich]

Two of the letter's signers:

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter: "No one is above the law. For two decades, Justice Thomas failed to report millions in gifts. Today, we asked DOJ to investigate Thomas for violating the Ethics of Government Act of 1978. We are joined by Ranking Members Nadler & Raskin, and Judiciary Members Lieu & Hank Johnson. (pix link)" / X

Ted Lieu on Twitter: "No one is above the law: not Members of Congress, not the President, and not Justice Clarence Thomas.
Today @AOC @RepJerryNadler @RepHankJohnson @RepRaskin and I requested the DOJ to investigate Justice Thomas’ alleged staggering violations of the Ethics of Government Act." / X

 

[Gospel]

Trying to figure out which is better to haul Clarence away in when that day arrives. The Mack McNeilus or Granite?

 

[Copernicus]

Thomas is the oldest Justice and most likely to have his term expired by nature. He will never be impeached no matter how corrupt he appears to be. Apparently, for a substantial number of Americans, that is a feature, not a bug, in his personal behavior.

 

[Jarhyn]

Trying to figure out which is better to haul Clarence away in when that day arrives. The Mack McNeilus or Granite?

How about "the kiddie pool full of human waste"?

 

[lpetrich]

(oops)