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☆ How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-29 | by ( Jamie Raskin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Many people have gloomily accepted the conventional wisdom that because there is no binding Supreme Court ethics code, there is no way to force Associate Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas to recuse themselves from the Jan. 6 cases that are before the court. Justices Alito and Thomas are probably making the same assumption. Justice Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, was deeply involved in the Jan. 6 “stop the steal” movement. Above the Virginia home of Justice Alito and his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, flew an upside-down American flag — a strong political statement among the people who stormed the Capitol. (Justice Alito said on Wednesday that he would not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases.)

Persons: Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Alito, Thomas, Donald, Justice Thomas’s, Ginni Thomas, Martha, Ann Alito, Biden, Trump, Fischer, — Organizations: Trump v . Locations: New Jersey, Trump v, Trump v . United States, United States

☆ Opinion | Justices Speak, and Are Greeted With Dissent
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

And yet, these are the facts: He accepted lavish gifts from powerful friends and failed to report them. His wife was indisputably involved in an attempt to stop the peaceful transfer of power from one president to the duly elected new one. Which Justice Thomas plainly detests when applied to minorities, because (I guess) he believes that it belittles the accomplishments of those who receive a helping hand. I’ve doubted Justice Thomas’s judgment in the past; now I doubt his advocacy skills in general. Because his arguments are self-pitying and unpersuasive.

Persons: Thomas, Clarence Thomas, Ginni, I’ve, Thomas’s Organizations: Ivy League

☆ Election Updates: Barron Trump will be a delegate at the Republican Convention.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Michael Gold | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +6 min

“I worry about fundamental freedoms across the board.”Asked what specific legal precedents could be undone by the court, Ms. Harris demurred, saying she was “hesitant” to do so. Image At a campaign event in Elkins Park, Pa., on Wednesday, Ms. Harris cast abortion rights as an issue of personal freedom. She said she judged Mr. Trump based on his conduct, adding that she had never met him personally. “I think they might do that,” Mr. Trump said of states’ monitoring of women’s pregnancies in an interview with Time magazine last month. Ms. Harris said she was not worried that such efforts could help Mr. Trump win support from voters who support abortion rights.

Persons: Kamala Harris, Biden’s, Clarence Thomas, ”, Harris, “, Harris demurred, Harris’s, Biden, Donald J, Trump, John Roberts, Roe, Wade, Thomas’s, Thomas, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Neil Gorsuch, Mr, Kavanaugh, Justin T, Sheryl Lee Ralph, “ It’s Organizations: The New York Times, Mr, Trump, Time, “ Abbott, Biden, United Locations: “, San Francisco, Pennsylvania, California, Elkins Park, Pa, Washington, United States

☆ How Justice Thomas’s ‘Nearly Adopted Daughter’ Became His Law Clerk
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-28 | by ( Steve Eder | Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The email went out to members of Justice Clarence Thomas’s law clerk network late last month celebrating his newest addition to an exclusive club. “Crystal Clanton’s clerkship for OT ’24 was announced by Scalia Law today!” wrote an assistant to Virginia Thomas, the justice’s wife, who is known as Ginni. The email referred to the 2024 October term of the court, and the tone was jubilant: “Please take a look at these posts of congratulations and support. In 2019, at the Thomases’ urging, Ms. Clanton enrolled at Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University in Virginia, where Justice Thomas has taught. She received a full merit scholarship, according to another judge who later hired her.

Persons: Clarence Thomas’s, Scalia, ”, Virginia Thomas, Clanton, ” Ms, Thomas, Antonin Scalia Organizations: Scalia Law, Antonin, George Mason University Locations: New York, Virginia

☆ Justice Thomas’s R.V. Loan Was Forgiven, Senate Inquiry Finds
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-25 | by ( Jo Becker | More About Jo Becker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Only then would the principal come due. But despite the favorable nature of the 1999 loan and a lengthy extension to make good on his obligations, Justice Thomas failed to repay a “significant portion” — or perhaps any — of the $267,230 principal, according to a new report by Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee. Nearly nine years later, after Justice Thomas had made an unclear number of the interest payments, the outstanding debt was forgiven, an outcome with ethical and potential tax consequences for the justice. “This was, in short, a sweetheart deal” that made no logical sense from a business perspective, Michael Hamersley, a tax lawyer who has served as a congressional expert witness, told The New York Times. The Senate inquiry was prompted by a Times investigation published in August that revealed that Justice Thomas bought his Prevost Marathon Le Mirage XL, a brand favored by touring rock bands and the super-wealthy, with financing from Anthony Welters, a longtime friend who made his fortune in the health care industry.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Justice Thomas, ”, Michael Hamersley, Anthony Welters Organizations: Democratic, Senate Finance, New York Times, Times

☆ Justice Thomas Reports Private Trips With Harlan Crow
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | More About Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But Justices Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. requested 90-day extensions, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which collects and publishes the forms. Mr. Crow treated the justice on a series of lavish trips, including flights on his private jet, island-hopping on his superyacht and vacationing at his estate in the Adirondacks. Mr. Crow also bought the justice’s mother’s home in Savannah, Ga., and covered a portion of private school tuition for the justice’s great-nephew, whom he was raising. Other wealthy friends have hosted Justice Thomas, including David L. Sokol, the former heir apparent to Berkshire Hathaway. In the years that followed, Mr. Singer repeatedly had business before the court.

Persons: Thomas, Samuel A, Alito Jr, Thomas’s, Harlan Crow, ProPublica, Crow, David L, Berkshire Hathaway, Anthony Welters, underwrote, Prevost, ” Justice Alito, Paul Singer, Singer Organizations: Administrative, U.S . Courts, Sokol, ” Locations: Texas, Savannah , Ga, Berkshire, Washington, Alaska

Only three months into Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s first Supreme Court term, she announced a book deal negotiated by the same powerhouse lawyer who represented the Obamas and James Patterson. The deal was worth about $3 million, according to people familiar with the agreement, and made Justice Jackson the latest Supreme Court justice to parlay her fame into a big book contract. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch had made $650,000 for a book of essays and personal reflections on the role of judges, while Justice Amy Coney Barrett received a $2 million advance for her forthcoming book about keeping personal feelings out of judicial rulings. Those newer justices joined two of their more senior colleagues, Justices Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor, in securing payments that eclipse their government salaries. In recent months reports by ProPublica, The New York Times and others have highlighted a lack of transparency at the Supreme Court, as well as the absence of a binding ethics code for the justices.

Persons: Ketanji Brown Jackson’s, James Patterson, Jackson, Neil M, Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, ProPublica, Thomas’s, Justice Samuel A, Alito Jr, John G, Roberts Organizations: The New York Times, Supreme, Republican Locations: The

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the second Black justice to sit on the court after Thurgood Marshall, has spent years opposing affirmative action. When the high court struck down the policy last month, Justice Thomas was one of the most influential figures behind the ruling. Abbie VanSickle, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, explains the impact affirmative action has had on Justice Thomas’s life and how he helped to bring about its demise.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Thurgood Marshall, Thomas, Abbie VanSickle Organizations: The Times

☆ Kathy Hochul: The Supreme Court Could Protect Survivors of Domestic Violence - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Kathy Hochul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Now, in Rahimi, the Supreme Court will decide whether deadly firearms can flood the homes of domestic violence survivors. The Fifth Circuit decided that government cannot prevent an abusive individual, against whom a court has issued a domestic violence protective order, from possessing a deadly firearm. Before oral arguments are heard, there’s no way to tell which way the Supreme Court will rule. After New York State’s century-old gun law was overturned, I took immediate steps to restore protections from gun violence, including signing new laws to strengthen training and gun licensing requirements. I’ve always said public safety is my top priority as governor, and I’m committed to using every tool at my disposal to keep our communities safe from gun violence.

Persons: Thomas’s, Justice Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, John Roberts, I’ve, I’m Organizations: Circuit, Fifth Circuit, Disease Control, York Locations: Rahimi, United States, New York, Bruen, Buffalo, Uvalde , Texas

On Oct. 15, 1991, Clarence Thomas secured his seat on the Supreme Court, a narrow victory after a bruising confirmation fight that left him isolated and disillusioned. Within months, the new justice enjoyed a far-warmer acceptance to a second exclusive club: the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, named for the Gilded Age author whose rags-to-riches novels represented an aspirational version of Justice Thomas’s own bootstraps origin story. If Justice Thomas’s life had unfolded as he had envisioned, his Horatio Alger induction might have been a celebration of his triumphs as a prosperous lawyer instead of a judge. So began his grudging path to a judicial career that brought him great prestige but only modest material wealth after decades of financial struggle. When he joined the Horatio Alger Association, Justice Thomas entered a world whose defining ethos of meritocratic success — that anyone can achieve the American dream with hard work, pluck and a little luck — was the embodiment of his own life philosophy, and a foundation of his jurisprudence.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Horatio Alger, Thomas’s, Justice Thomas, —, ” Organizations: Distinguished, Yale Law School, Horatio, Horatio Alger Association, Justice

☆ Federal Judge Defends Clarence Thomas in New Book
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( Carl Hulse | More About Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The book recounts 12 cases in which Justice Thomas, in Judge Thapar’s view, assiduously followed the original intent of the Constitution in siding with the aggrieved. He aims to dispel what he says are gross misconceptions about his book’s subject. “By cherry-picking his opinions or misrepresenting them, Justice Thomas’s critics claim that his originalism favors the rich over the poor, the strong over the weak and corporations over consumers,” the book says. While he promotes the book, he has found himself addressing the current furor over the court as much as Justice Thomas’s record — an unusual position in the ranks of federal judges, who usually steer clear of the media. Judge Thapar did note that he believes judges should stick to the letter of the law in providing required information.

Persons: Thapar, Thomas’s, Thomas, Thapar’s, Judge Thapar, Thomas’s originalism, ” Judge Thapar, Justice Thomas, “, ”

☆ John Roberts Is Harming the Institution He Wants to Protect - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( Jeff Shesol | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

In June 2012, at the end of a contentious Supreme Court term that decided, among other things, the fate of the Affordable Care Act, Chief Justice John Roberts prepared to leave for Malta, to teach a course on the court. Such circumstances would pain any chief justice, this one more than most. The chief justice is portrayed by some as a tragic figure, powerless to save his court from itself. But the tragedy of John Roberts is that he does have the power to restore some measure of the court’s reputation — he just hasn’t used it. This term will likely be remembered as the year the Supreme Court, led by its chief justice, ended race-conscious admissions at the nation’s colleges and universities.

Persons: John Roberts, “, ”, Walter Bagehot, Roberts, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas, —, Thomas’s, Virginia Thomas Organizations: Affordable, White, ProPublica, The New York Times Locations: Malta, “ Malta, “, Alabama, Congress

☆ Clarence Thomas: Appellate judge defends justice in new book, rejects 'pot shots' at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Ariane De Vogue | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A federal appeals court judge previously on short lists for the Supreme Court is taking the rare step to broadly and publicly reject allegations that Justice Clarence Thomas has been improperly influenced by lavish gifts provided by a conservative billionaire, dismissing “pot shots” at the Supreme Court in general. Thapar this past week released a new book about Thomas entitled “The People’s Justice,” in which he explores the justice’s favored judicial philosophy of originalism. “You can judge their works, and what they do, against what they’ve done in the past,” Thapar told CNN. Ethics and financial disclosuresThapar rejects suggestions that Thomas should have disclosed the hospitality provided by Crow on annual financial disclosure forms. They have called Justice Thomas ‘the cruelest justice,’ ‘stupid,’ and even an ‘Uncle Tom’ a traitor to his race,” Thapar writes.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Amul Thapar, Thapar, Thomas, originalism, Thomas ’, Thomas ’ originalism, Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell, Harlan Crow’s, ” Thapar, Ginni, Crow, ” Virginia Canter, ” “, ” Canter, hadn’t, “, –, ”, Thomas’s, Thomas ‘, ’, Tom ’, Elizabeth Wydra, ” Wydra Organizations: CNN, Eastern, Eastern District of, ProPublica, Citizens, Crow, Administrative, Center Locations: Cincinnati, Eastern District, Eastern District of Kentucky, Washington

☆ Opinion | Does Justice Alito Hear Himself?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( Jesse Wegman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

And appearances count, perhaps nowhere more than at the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter of many of the most fraught issues of American life. Justice Alito is hardly the first member of the current court to face charges of serious ethical lapses. Justice Thomas has mostly kept his mouth shut, though he did issue a brief statement after the ProPublica article about him. Justice Alito, by choosing to speak up at length and in a forum that he knew would be both friendly and prominent, muscled his opinion into public view. For instance, Justice Alito defended his decision not to report Mr. Singer’s freebie because it was “personal hospitality,” which he believed, like his colleague Justice Thomas, did not need to be reported.

Persons: Alito, Clarence Thomas, Ginni, ProPublica, Thomas’s, Harlan Crow, Thomas, Justice Alito, Singer’s, Justice Thomas, Singer, he’d Organizations: Supreme, Trump White House Locations: Alaska

☆ Justices Thomas and Alito Delay Release of Financial Disclosures
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Justice Clarence Thomas delayed releasing his annual financial disclosure form on Wednesday after recent revelations cast scrutiny on his travel, gifts and real estate dealings with a conservative billionaire donor from Texas. Like Justice Thomas, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. asked for a 90-day extension to file the forms, which detail gifts, investments and other financial holdings, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which handles the financial records and the database where they are publicly disclosed. The financial disclosures, especially that of Justice Thomas, have drawn heightened interest after a series of reports raised questions about the level of transparency at the Supreme Court and the lack of an enforceable ethics code. The nature of Justice Thomas’s relationship with Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire and longtime Republican donor, has elicited particular attention. The disclosure forms for the other justices gave a glimpse of their lives outside the court, offering details of travel in 2022 and money earned from book deals.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Justice Thomas, Justice Samuel A, Alito Jr, Thomas’s, Harlan Crow Organizations: Administrative, U.S . Courts, Supreme Locations: Texas

☆ Hunter Biden’s Lawyers Cite Landmark Gun Ruling in Bid to Stave Off Charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Glenn Thrush | Michael S. Schmidt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Mr. Biden is under investigation for several potential offenses, including whether he had lied on a federal firearms application in 2018 when asked if he was addicted to drugs. It is unclear if Mr. Weiss is receptive to that suggestion. A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiss did not immediately respond to a request for comment. At the time, Mr. Biden was struggling to remain sober. But such federal prosecutions are relatively rare, and seldom pursued as stand-alone charges.

Persons: Biden, Christopher Clark, Weiss, Hunter Biden, Bryan David Range, Hunter Biden’s Organizations: U.S ., Appeals, Third Circuit, Department, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives Locations: U.S, Delaware, Pennsylvania

☆ Tightening Supreme Court Ethics Rules Faces Steep Hurdles
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The drumbeat of revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose lavish gifts and significant financial arrangements with a billionaire Republican donor has put a spotlight on the fact that the Supreme Court has the weakest ethics rules in the federal government. But it is far less clear that anything can be done about it. Justice Thomas’s behavior has underscored that financial disclosure rules for justices are porous and that the court has no binding code of ethical conduct like the one that governs lower-court judges. The court has shown no interest in adopting one, and proposals in Congress to force one upon it face steep political and constitutional hurdles. “It’s a mess,” said Stephen Gillers, a legal ethics professor at New York University.

☆ Justice Thomas’s Friend Defends Failure to Disclose Tuition Payments by Harlan Crow
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — A Republican donor from Texas paid for two years of private-school tuition for Justice Clarence Thomas’s great-nephew, a gift that the justice did not disclose, a friend of the justice acknowledged in a statement on Thursday. The acknowledgment added detail to a report on Thursday by ProPublica, which last month documented how Justice Thomas had received gifts of luxury travel from the billionaire donor, Harlan Crow. The revelations, which also include the sale of the home of Justice Thomas’s mother to Mr. Crow, have raised questions over the justice’s ethical practices. In his statement, Mark Paoletta, Justice Thomas’s friend and a former official for the Trump administration, argued that the justice was not required to report the tuition. “This malicious story shows nothing except for the fact that the Thomases and the Crows are kind, generous, and loving people who tried to help this young man,” Mr. Paoletta wrote.

☆ What Scalia’s Defense of a Free Jet Trip Says About Thomas’s Travels
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Adam Liptak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Almost 20 years ago, during the Supreme Court’s winter break in 2004, Justice Antonin Scalia took a free trip on a Gulfstream jet, hitching a ride with Vice President Dick Cheney on a government plane. The trip ripened into a controversy, as the court had recently agreed to hear a case in which Mr. Cheney was a party. Lawyers for the other side asked Justice Scalia to disqualify himself, and he issued a combative 21-page memorandum refusing to do so. Unlike Mr. Cheney, Mr. Crow is not known to have had business before the court, so the two cases are hardly identical. But Justice Scalia’s discussion of whether the plane ride was a gift, what it was worth and whether it needed to be disclosed helps illuminate the legal standards that apply to Justice Thomas’s travels.

☆ Justice Thomas Failed to Report Real Estate Deal With Texas Billionaire
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose that he had sold a string of properties to a longtime conservative donor from Texas in 2014, ProPublica revealed on Thursday. The transaction is the first known instance of money going directly from the billionaire donor, Harlan Crow, 73, to the justice, in what appears to be a direct violation of disclosure requirements. The revelation cast greater scrutiny on Justice Thomas, who has long raised eyebrows over questions of conflicts of interest, in part because of the political activism of his wife, Virginia Thomas. The disclosures have fueled calls by Democratic lawmakers and court transparency advocates for the justices to face tighter ethics constraints. In 2014, a real estate company linked to Mr. Crow bought a single-family home and two vacant lots on a quiet Savannah street, paying $133,363 to Justice Thomas and his family for the property, ProPublica said.

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