Under the Headline
Justice Clarence Thomas Acknowledges He Should Have Disclosed Free Trips From Billionaire Donor, ProPublica exposed the utter corruption of Justice Thomas. In 20 years on the bench, he has taken as much money in bribes as he has had a salary. That is
NOT someone who rules impartially. Some of the other Justices have significant outside income - but that comes from being published authors His graft dwarfs anyone who has ever been on the bench, and none of it comes from
legal services rendered..
"Legal ethics experts said that Thomas appeared to have violated the law by failing to disclose the trips and gifts." Ya
think?"The Thomas revelations helped plunge the Supreme Court into its biggest ethical crisis in the modern era. Justice Samuel Alito also failed to disclose a luxury fishing trip that was paid for by wealthy political donors [you're next, Bub], one of whom had cases before the court. In recent weeks, Alito has faced criticism for politicized flags that flew at two of his homes. The public’s approval of the court has plummeted in the last few years, polls show.
In response, the court last year adopted a code of conduct for the first time in its history. The code, however, has no enforcement mechanism." Which is the real point, here.
In the absence of a real ethics mechanism (or real ethics) for the Supreme Court, the only mechanism is impeachment. And, it is
thoroughly justified. In 1969, Abe Fortas resigned over a $20,000 retainer agreement (equivalent to $166,000 in 2023). It was a common practice among the judges at the time to continue a legal practice outside the court). But, this retainer agreement was unusual and controversial, because the client was involved in an insider trading scandal, and the retainer payments would continue for his lifetime (and beyond). It was subsequently revealed that the client was seeking a pardon from President Johnson, who was a good friend and confidant of Fortas. At the time, though, the Nixon administration was gunning for SC Justices so they could change the makeup of the court (sound familiar?). He resigned for the good of the Court. (Ironically, Nixon subsequently appointed Blackmun, the author of
Roe.)
But nothing compares, really, to Thomas' graft. Nothing. And it is so brazen.
