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☆ Top Senate Democrats push for new ethics rules in wake of Clarence Thomas report as Republicans defend justice
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Manu Raju | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Plus some Democrats on the panel, like Sen. Dick Blumenthal, want to go much further than Durbin in the Thomas probe – exposing divisions within the ranks. “I hope that Chief Justice Roberts reads his story this morning and understands something has to be done,” Durbin told CNN. “The reputation of the Supreme Court is at stake here. “The drip, drip, drip of these destructive disclosures is going to destroy the United States Supreme Court unless there is an effective proper investigation,” he said. “The court is responsible for their own guidelines in that regard,” Romney told CNN.

☆ Supreme Court: Harlan Crow paid school tuition for Clarence Thomas' nephew, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Republican billionaire donor Harlan Crow for several years paid the pricey private school tuition of a great nephew of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a new report reveals. He never disclosed in official filings that Crow was paying the tuition, even though he disclosed another, much less generous payment of $5,000 for a fraction of Martin's tuition by another friend, the report by ProPublica noted. "Ethics law experts told ProPublica they believed Thomas was required by law to disclose the tuition payments because they appear to be a gift to him," ProPublica wrote. ProPublica also exposed that a Crow company bought properties in Savannah, Georgia, owned by Thomas' family, including a home where the justice's mother still lives rent-free. Martin, who is now in his 30s, is the son of Thomas' nephew, who at one point when Martin was a boy was in prison on drug charges, ProPublica noted.

☆ GOP megadonor Harlan Crow paid for Clarence Thomas to send a child in his custody to a $6,000-a-month private boarding school: ProPublica
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas sent a child in his custody to a private boarding school. GOP megadonor Harlan Crow paid at least some of the child's $6,000-a-month tuition, per ProPublica. Tuition at the Hidden Lake Academy cost more than $6,000 a month, but ProPublica reported that Thomas did not pay for Martin's education himself. A former administrator at the school, Christopher Grimwood, told ProPublica that Crow covered the costs of Martin's entire education at the school — about a year. If Crow had paid for Martin's education at both schools over a period of four years, he would have spent more than $150,000, ProPublica said.

☆ The same year Clarence Thomas sent a child to a private boarding school on Harlan Crow's dime, a parent testified that the academy used children for free labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The school Clarence Thomas sent a child to has been accused of forcing students into hard labor. A ProPublica report found that Harlan Crow footed the school's $6,000-a-month bill for Thomas. Thomas has been accused of judicial misconduct for not reporting gifts he received from Crow. These activities could go on "for as long as 8 hours," the parent wrote. Justice Thomas has been accused of judicial misconduct after a series of reports from ProPublica detailed his acceptance of unreported lavish gifts from Crow.

Companies United States Senate FollowWASHINGTON, May 2 (Reuters) - Ethics concerns relating to U.S. Supreme Court justices are set to be scrutinized on Tuesday by a Senate panel during a hearing called amid revelations about luxury trips and real estate transactions involving members of the nation's top judicial body. "Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the court participates in the process or not," Durbin said in a statement responding to the decision by Roberts not to appear. "It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court, the only agency of our government without it." Roberts has said Supreme Court justices consult that code in assessing their own ethical obligations. In a letter to Durbin declining to testify, Roberts attached a "Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices" to which the justices adhere.

☆ That simple 'hi' text from a stranger could be the start of a scam that ends up costing you millions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +14 min

The scammer networks operate fake trading platforms that look "exactly the way they should look," Friedman told CNBC. "When I was looking at who had messaged, I was like, 'I don't know if this person is real,'" Kaimi told CNBC. When pressed, Kaimi told Mike about his financial difficulties, stemming from past credit-card debt. "I thought I was someone who knew when they were being scammed, was able to discern things," Kaimi told CNBC. But when Kaimi told Mike he was planning to withdraw his funds, the penny dropped.

☆ A law school named after the late Antonin Scalia is a haven for conservative Supreme Court justices to enjoy lavish treatment, New York Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Antonin Scalia Law School at the Virginia-based George Mason University was renamed in 2016. The renaming was part of a plan to help its reputation by getting closer to the Supreme Court. Justices were given notable benefits to teach there, emails obtained by The New York Times reveal. This desire to keep Supreme Court leadership on their roster even superseded scandals the judges faced. The Antonin Scalia Law School and a spokesperson for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

☆ Senate Judiciary Democrats underwhelmed by Supreme Court chief Roberts' ethics response
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts in a letter Monday answered additional questions about ethics on the high court — but the Democratic leadership of the Senate Judiciary Committee was less than impressed with his response. Roberts' answers "further highlight the need for meaningful Supreme Court ethics reform, which the Committee will discuss at our hearing tomorrow," the Democratic-led Judiciary Committee said in a Twitter post. The revelations come as the Supreme Court is experiencing historically low levels of public approval. Roberts' response included a statement of ethics principles and practices "to which all of the current Members of the Supreme Court subscribe." The Supreme Court, unlike lower federal courts, is not bound by a mandatory code of conduct.

☆ The attorney featured in the painting that shows Clarence Thomas at one of the undisclosed vacations just published an article arguing that the Supreme Court justice did not have to report the trips
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Earlier this month, ProPublica reported on Justice Clarence Thomas's undisclosed luxury trips. Mark Paoletta, a partner at Schaeer Jaffe and close friend of Thomas, wrote in the right-leaning National Review article published Thursday arguing that Thomas had "acted properly and consistent with the rules" of financial disclosures for Supreme Court Justices. But the attorney is also featured in a painting that was commissioned by Crow and depicts Thomas vacationing at the luxury resort that is central to the renewed scrutiny of Thomas' financial disclosure forms. Sharif Tarabay, the artist of the painting, told ProPublica that the piece depicts a moment at Topridge from about five years ago. But that is immaterial to the conclusion that Justice Thomas had no obligation to disclose these innocuous trips," Paoletta wrote.

☆ Jane Roberts, who is married to Chief Justice John Roberts, made $10.3 million in commissions from elite law firms, whistleblower documents show
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mattathias Schwartz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +20 min

Jane Roberts was paid more than $10 million by a host of elite law firms, a whistleblower alleges. At least one of those firms argued a case before Chief Justice Roberts after paying his wife hundreds of thousands of dollars. And I realized that even the law firms who were Jane's clients had nowhere to go. Mark Jungers, another one of Jane Roberts' former colleagues, said that Jane was smart, talented, and good at her job. But whether that committee has the authority to discipline Thomas or any other Supreme Court Justice remains a matter of murky constitutional interpretation, to be ultimately decided by the Supreme Court itself.

Kids in Hammond, Indiana, are forced to climb over and through stopped trains block their way to school. Jamie Kelter Davis for ProPublicaState lawmakers have tried to curb blocked crossings by restricting the lengths of trains. Spielmaker, the Norfolk Southern spokesperson, said: "We work with first responders on a daily basis to assist however we can. A favorable court opinion could allow other states to finally enforce their laws on blocked crossings. Among those who hope to voice their concerns about the blocked crossings are rail workers themselves who worry about the kids.

☆ Justice Clarence Thomas' troubles reveal a much larger accountability issue lurking in the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is facing a wave of misconduct allegations in recent weeks. The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations. What was your initial reaction to Monday's Bloomberg report regarding the 2004 appeals case that Justice Thomas failed to recuse himself from? Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The point is that the issue should not be punishing Justice Thomas or punishing Justice Gorsuch.

☆ US Senators to introduce bill on Supreme Court conduct - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

April 26 (Reuters) - Two U.S. senators will introduce a bipartisan bill on Wednesday requiring the Supreme Court to create a code of conduct for its justices following recent media questions concerning the full disclosure of some financial activities, the Wall Street Journal reported. The bill being introduced by Angus King and Lisa Murkowski, called the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act, would require the court to name an official in charge of reviewing any possible violations of the code or federal laws by Supreme Court justices, the newspaper said. The bill also states that the Supreme Court marshal, in consultation with the court and the appointed official, could commission federal personnel or businesses to assist with investigations into possible misconduct by the justices or their staff, the newspaper added. Among recent media questions about full disclosure of financial activity by Supreme Court justices were some raised by news outlet ProPublica detailing relations between Justice Clarence Thomas and Dallas businessman Harlan Crow, including luxury travel paid for by Crow. In a statement to ProPublica, Crow said he had "never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue."

☆ Head of a Major Law Firm Bought Real Estate From Gorsuch
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Charlie Savage | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON — One month after Neil M. Gorsuch was appointed to the Supreme Court in April 2017, he and two partners finally sold a vacation property they had been trying to offload for nearly two years. But when he reported the sale the next year, he left blank a field asking the identity of the buyer. County real estate records in Colorado show that Brian L. Duffy, the chief executive of Greenberg Traurig, a sprawling law firm that frequently has business before the court, and his wife, Kari Duffy, bought the property. The buyer’s identity — and Justice Gorsuch’s decision not to disclose it — was reported earlier on Tuesday by Politico. Although experts said that the omission did not violate the law, they added that it underscored the need for ethics reforms given the intensifying scrutiny on financial entanglements at the Supreme Court and renewed calls by Democratic lawmakers for tightened rules.

☆ Supreme Court's Roberts declines to appear at Senate Judiciary hearing
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( John Kruzel | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas (L) talks with Chief Justice John Roberts as the justices pose for their group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2018. REUTERS/Jim Young/File PhotoWASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts will not testify at an upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearing expected to focus on judicial ethics, he said in a letter on Tuesday to the committee chair. A Supreme Court spokesperson issued the response, which included five pages of information about current judicial ethics standards. "Supreme Court ethics reform must happen whether the Court participates in the process or not," Durbin said in a statement responding to Roberts' letter. "It is time for Congress to accept its responsibility to establish an enforceable code of ethics for the Supreme Court, the only agency of our government without it."

☆ Sen. Wyden asks billionaire Harlan Crow for list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., on Monday asked GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for a complete list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and evidence that the billionaire real estate developer complied with federal tax law in connection with the long-undisclosed largesse to Thomas. "This unprecedented arrangement between a wealthy benefactor and a Supreme Court justice raises serious concerns related to federal tax and ethics laws," Wyden, who heads the Senate Finance Committee, wrote in a six-page letter to Crow. Thomas had not disclosed any of the gifts from Crow, or the property purchases by him, until they were revealed by ProPublica. "The secrecy surrounding your dealings with Justice Thomas is simply unacceptable," Wyden wrote in his letter to Crow. "The American public deserves a full accounting of the full extent of your largesse towards Justice Thomas, including whether these gifts complied with all relevant federal tax and ethics laws," he wrote.

☆ Clarence Thomas didn't recuse himself from a 2004 appeal tied to Harlan Crow's family business, per Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Clarence Thomas previously said his friend Harlan Crow had no business before the court. But a case involving Trammell Crow Residential made its way to the Supreme Court in 2005, per Bloomberg. Harlan Crow was CEO of Crow Holdings from 1988 to 2017, and remains chair of its board, per Bloomberg and The Real Deal. "At the time of this case, Trammell Crow Residential operated completely independently of Crow Holdings with a separate management team and its own independent operations," the statement to Bloomberg said. Neither Harlan Crow nor Crow Holdings had knowledge of or involvement in this case, and a search of Crow Holding's legal records reveals no involvement in this case.

☆ 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.

☆ GOP Gov. Jim Justice set to launch bid for Joe Manchin's Senate seat in West Virginia this week
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Kevin Breuninger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R) and US Senator Joe Manchin (L), Democrat of West Virginia, attend a roundtable discussion on the opioid epidemic with local and state officials at the Cabell-Huntington Health Department in Huntington, West Virginia, July 8, 2019. West Virginia offers the GOP perhaps its best chance to flip a Democratic seat next year. Justice's team believes a Senate bid by the governor could make Manchin less likely to seek reelection, the GOP source told CNBC last month. Former President Donald Trump, who is deeply popular in West Virginia, backed Mooney in his most recent House election. Justice is set to announce his Senate bid at his own resort, furthering intermingling the governor's business and politics.

☆ Justice Clarence Thomas and the Plague of Bad Reporting
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( James Taranto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Wonder Land: When we began to devalue conscience, blurring a pragmatic understanding of right from wrong, we unleashed the whirlwind that engulfs us now. Images: Margaret Small/Reuter/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyProPublica’s big scoop turned out to be a quarter-teaspoon. In an error-filled report last week, the opinionated news site got one point right: Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t disclose the 2014 sale of his one-third interest in three Savannah, Ga., properties to a company controlled by his friend Harlan Crow . On these pages, in an article published online Sunday, I observed that he may have to amend his financial-disclosure form for that year. On Monday, “a source close to Thomas” told CNN that the justice would do so.

On that unredacted form, Kacsmaryk reported owning about $2.9 million in stock in the Florida-based supermarket company Publix. Federal judges are only required to report financial holdings in ranges, and don’t have to provide exact figures. One possible source of the Publix stock Kacsmaryk reported in 2017 is the judge’s grandmother. In 2020 and 2021, less than 4% of officials required to file judicial financial disclosures requested redaction, according to reports from the Administrative Office of the US Courts. In any case, experts said, the judge’s redacted report prevents transparency that litigants deserve.

☆ A Supreme Court justice resigned 54 years ago over conduct that may 'pale in comparison' to Clarence Thomas' — but Thomas is almost certain to get off scot-free thanks in part to the 'Trump effect'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas resigned in 1969 over accusations of financial misconduct. But unlike Fortas, Thomas is unlikely to experience severe consequences in the post-Trump era. Like Fortas, Thomas has been accused of financial misconduct. Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation into Thomas, and the Senate Judiciary Committee has said it will hold a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. "He will forever be remembered as the second Abe Fortas," Kalir said.

[1/2] Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts arrives before President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, February 7, 2023, in Washington. Jacquelyn Martin/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoCompanies United States Senate FollowWASHINGTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The Senate Judiciary Committee's chairman called on U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a May 2 hearing on Supreme ethics reform after earlier urging him to investigate ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and a wealthy Republican donor. The court did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Roberts. The chief justice is a member of the court's 6-3 conservative majority. In inviting Roberts to testify, Durbin also said the chief justice could designate another justice to appear instead.

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts poses during a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 7, 2022. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday invited Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to testify next month before the panel about ethics reform of the court. Last week, the same news outlet reported that Thomas failed to disclose that Crow had purchased property from Thomas and his relatives, which included a house where Thomas' mother still lives. In his letter Thursday to Roberts, Durbin wrote, "Your last significant discussion of how Supreme Court Justices address ethical issues was presented in your 2011 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary." A Supreme Court spokeswoman did not immediately respond to CNBC when asked if Roberts would accept Durbin's invitation to appear before the committee.

CNN —Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin has requested that Chief Justice John Roberts or “another Justice whom you designate” appear before his committee next month for a hearing on Supreme Court ethics rules. The hospitality was not disclosed on Thomas’ public financial filings with the Supreme Court, ProPublica said. In his letter, Durbin argued that there is precedent for justices to testify before the committee, citing a hearing in 2011 when then-justices Stephen Breyer and Antonin Scalia appeared for a hearing. These problems were already apparent back in 2011, and the Court’s decade-long failure to address them has contributed to a crisis of public confidence,” Durbin wrote. “The status quo is no longer tenable.”The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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