Here Are All The Ethics Scandals Involving The Supreme Court Justice

Topline

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has come under fire from Democrats and ethics experts for accepting trips from and selling real estate to GOP megadonor Harlan Crow without disclosing it—the latest in a series of recent scandals involving Thomas that have fueled calls for him to recuse himself from cases or be removed from office and the court to impose a binding code of ethics.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas poses for the official photo at the Supreme Court in … [+] Washington, DC on October 7, 2022.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Harlan Crow Trips: ProPublica first reported Thomas has for years accepted trips from GOP megadonor and developer Harlan Crow, including on his private jet and superyacht, without disclosing them on financial disclosures as federal law requires.

Harlan Crow Real Estate: Thomas and his family also sold a string of properties in Savannah, Georgia, to Crow in 2014 without disclosing that as required, ProPublica reports—including the home where his mother still lives—which Crow told the publication he purchased so he could eventually build a museum dedicated to the justice.

Financial Disclosures: Thomas has made a series of other “errors and omissions” on financial disclosure reports, which the Washington Post reported includes reporting real estate income for decades from a company that shut down in 2006, and has in the past had to amend his financial disclosures multiple times, including after failing to report his wife’s income in the 2000s.

Ginni Thomas Conservative Activism: Thomas’ wife Ginni Thomas is a right-wing activist, which has raised considerable ethics concerns about overlap between her and her husband’s work—particularly as the New Yorker reported groups she’s been involved with have submitted briefs before the Supreme Court, including a group that has weighed in on the court’s pending case about affirmative action in university admissions.

Ginni Thomas 2020 Election: Thomas pushed efforts to overturn the 2020 election results as her husband was hearing cases on it, including sending text messages to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, which fueled calls for Thomas to resign or face impeachment over the perceived conflict of interest.

January 6: Ginni Thomas has also confirmed she briefly attended the rally on January 6 that preceded the attack on the Capitol building and publicly criticized the House January 6 Committee, and the justice has come under fire for failing to recuse himself in a case concerning former President Donald Trump’s records being turned over to the committee—in which he was the only justice to dissent and believe the records should have been withheld.

Ginni Thomas Funding: The Post reported in March that a conservative group Ginni Thomas formed in 2019 had raised nearly $600,000 from anonymous donors funneled through a right-wing think tank that filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court during the same time, and ethics experts said Clarence Thomas should have recused from that case if his wife was paid by the group.

What To Watch For

Democrats in Congress have pushed for Chief Justice John Roberts and the Justice Department to investigate the relationship between Thomas and Crow and the justice’s failure to disclose it, and could call Thomas to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Thomas’ failure to report his dealings with Crow could violate the Ethics in Government Act, Democrats and ethics experts have suggested, which carries a punishment of a year in prison or a fine if violated. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has also called for the justice’s impeachment over his associations with Crow, though that’s unlikely to happen. Justices are impeached and removed from office in the same way as presidents, with a majority vote in the House and two-thirds majority in the Senate—which is unlikely to happen given Republicans’ control of the House and narrow minority in the Senate. Congressional Republicans are also likely to stand in the way of efforts by Democrats to enact legislation that would impose stricter ethics rules and disclosure requirements on justices.

Big Number

58%. That’s the share of respondents in a recent Economist/YouGov poll who said they strongly or somewhat disapprove of Thomas accepting “luxury trips without disclosing them,” including 40% of Republicans. Only 43% said they believe Thomas violated the law by doing so, though that’s higher than the 28% who said he didn’t. The justice had a 41% favorability rating among respondents, higher than the 37% who view him negatively, fueled by a 67% favorability rating among Republicans.

Chief Critic

Thomas issued a statement following the ProPublica report about accepting trips from Crow defending his failure to disclose it. “Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable,” Thomas said. “I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.” Ginni Thomas has also hit back against accusations that her activism has an impact on her husband’s work, including her efforts after the 2020 election. “I did not speak with [Clarence Thomas] at all about the details of my post-election activities, which were minimal,” Ginni Thomas testified to the House January 6 Committee.

Key Background

Thomas’ ethics controversies have been part of a broader string of ethics concerns at the 6-3 conservative Supreme Court. Justice Samuel Alito has come under fire following reporting that an anti-abortion advocate knew the court’s 2014 ruling in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby before it was publicly announced and was tipped off by an associate who had dinner with Alito and his wife. Conservative justices have also drawn scrutiny for socializing and appearing at events alongside right-wing politicians and figures, among other concerns. The controversies have ramped up efforts to pressure Supreme Court justices to be bound by a code of ethics, which lower federal judges are forced to follow but justices on the high court are not. Democrats are trying to force the court to adopt a code of ethics through legislation or budgetary proposals, though those efforts still face long odds given Republicans’ likely opposition. The Post reported in February the court has reportedly been discussing how to take up an ethics code for years, but has yet to make any progress on it.