Congress will decide whether Supreme Court judges need ethical restrictions
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas scandal. I will say right away that even if everything is confirmed, the judge is unlikely to face problems: the judges of the US Supreme Court are the only judges in the country who do not have official ethical rules of work, and Congress is unlikely to begin impeachment proceedings against the judge.
So today, ProPublica released a story about how a conservative billionaire generously helped a judge for years. In particular, the publication gives an example of the trip of the judge and his wife to Indonesia in the summer of 2019: a flight by private jet and travel on a yacht, which even had a chef, are estimated at $500. But the judge didn't have to pay: both the plane and the yacht belonged to GOP mega-donor and friend of the judge Harlan Crow. The publication says that the judge spent his vacation at the expense of the billionaire every year for many years in a row and never disclosed this information anywhere. Mr. Crowe himself insists that he has a long-term friendship with the judge; the billionaire extended his hospitality to the judge to exactly the same extent as to other friends, and, most importantly, he never asked for any favors related to the judge’s work and did not even discuss any court cases. In turn, the judge never asked for any help, action or donation from the friend. The billionaire also provided the judge and his wife with other “goodies”: in 000, he donated 2011 to an NGO founded by the judge’s wife (moreover, Ginny Thomas received a 500 salary from this NGO that year); the judge was also given a Bible for 000 (the judge himself disclosed this information), the billionaire paid for a portrait of the judge and his wife, and also donated 120 to the judge’s alma mater - Yale University Law School - to the Justice Thomas Portrait Fund. As the publication states based on the results of the investigation, the judge periodically used a friend’s plane for flights, even short ones.
Among other friends of the billionaire who vacationed with Judge Thomas, the publication also found, for example, lawyer Mark Paoletta, who previously served as general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget in the Trump Administration. This in itself is interesting. First, the lawyer explained to the publication that since he was a government employee, after consulting with an ethics lawyer, he reimbursed the billionaire for his vacation expenses. Second, about a year ago, a lawyer testified at a congressional hearing on the ethics of Supreme Court justices and insisted that Supreme Court justices do not need ethical restrictions.
Author: Igor Slabykh
