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☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ ProPublica: GOP megadonor paid private school tuition for grandnephew of Justice Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Tierney Sneed | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —A Texas billionaire and GOP megadonor paid boarding school tuition for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ grandnephew, and the justice did not report the financial assistance for the child he helped raised on his annual disclosures, according to a new ProPublica report – the latest revelation raising ethical questions around the high court. The ProPublica report on Thursday revealed that the billionaire Harlan Crow paid tuition for Mark Martin, who lived with Thomas’ family as a child and for whom the justice became a legal guardian. ProPublica cited a 2009 bank statement and an interview with a former administrator at the Georgia boarding school Martin attended. The former administrator at the school, Hidden Lake Academy, told ProPublica that Crow paid for Martin’s tuition for the year or so Martin was at the boarding school. The administrator said, according to ProPublica, that he had been told by Crow that Crow also paid for Martin’s tuition at another school, the Randolph-Macon Academy in Virginia, which is Crow’s alma mater.

☆ 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.

☆ Sheldon Whitehouse vs. the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Senators are now trying to create an ethics code for the High Court. Images: AP Composite: Mark KellyThe Senate Judiciary Committee’s hearing Tuesday on “Supreme Court ethics” was another chance for Democrats to proclaim the importance of public trust in the High Court, while simultaneously working overtime to destroy it. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse , long overdue for his fitting of a tinfoil hat, attacked Justice Clarence Thomas for hanging out with “people dedicated to turning the Court into a tool for right-wing billionaires.”Sorry, but the members of another branch of government don’t need to run their personal social calendars past Mr. Whitehouse for approval before they meet up with old friends. After weeks of spelunking into the financial disclosures of the conservative Justices, the media has emerged with only innuendo.

☆ Podcast: Back to the future with high Fed rates. Then what?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

=====================The Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates to their highest level in nearly 16 years. In Kenya, a cult leader is in court after over 100 found dead from starvation - mainly children. *This podcast was updated to correct a reference to Justice Clarence Thomas. Visit the Thomson Reuters Privacy Statement for information on our privacy and data protection practices. You may also visit megaphone.fm/adchoices to opt-out of targeted advertisingFurther ReadingFed likely to hike rates, hint at pause in tightening cycleKenyan cult leader appears in court after more than 100 followers dieOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Lawmakers Grapple Over Whether Supreme Court Needs an Ethics Code
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Video from the 1991 confirmation hearing for Justice Clarence Thomas played at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Supreme Court ethics. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Senate Democrats on Tuesday faulted the Supreme Court’s ethics rules following news reports that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury vacations from and sold real estate to a billionaire friend, as Republicans said that scrutiny of the justices was grounded in the court’s conservative supermajority overturning precedents such as Roe v. Wade. The forum was the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Richard Durbin (D., Ill.) moved ahead with a hearing on Supreme Court ethics even after Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to testify. The chief justice instead sent a statement signed by all nine justices saying that while they have no binding code of conduct or internal compliance office, they nonetheless “follow the same general principles and statutory standards as other federal judges.”

☆ The ‘Ethics’ Assault on the Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Journal Editorial Report: Senators are now trying to create an ethics code for the High Court. Images: AP Composite: Mark KellySenate Democrats are holding another hearing on “Supreme Court Ethics Reform” on Tuesday, and it’s important to understand that this isn’t about ethics at all. This is another front in the political campaign to delegitimize the Supreme Court, with a goal of tarnishing its rulings and subjecting it to more political control. The campaign is on full display in the press, with reporters at multiple publications suddenly searching for supposed ethics violations or conflicts of interest. Our writers have examined and debunked these reports highlighting Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch in recent weeks.

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.

☆ Supreme Court: New documents show how Sandra Day O'Connor helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

CNN —Justice Sandra Day O’Connor provided the early framework that steered the outcome in the dispute over the 2000 presidential election and ensured George W. Bush would win the White House over Al Gore, Supreme Court documents released on Tuesday show. They also demonstrate the tension among the nine justices being asked to decide a presidential election on short deadlines. The five conservative justices (O’Connor, Kennedy, Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas) sided with Bush. The Florida results had been too close to call at the end of Election Day, November 7. The next day, Kennedy wrote to the chief justice, “Sandra’s memorandum sets forth a very sound approach” and said he wanted to build on it.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

Supreme Court justices are under renewed scrutiny due to recently uncovered financial dealings. That's a question that the Romans asked over 2,000 years ago," Doron Kalir, a professor at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law and an expert in legal ethics, told Insider. But parties arguing before the Supreme Court cannot challenge justices for a lack of recusal like people can in lower courts. There is an official Code of Conduct for Federal Judges, but it applies to all federal judges except the Supreme Court justices, simply because that's what the Supreme Court decided, according to Kalir. "That's what the Supreme Court decided, and they're supreme," Kalir told Insider.

☆ SCOTUS justices went on cushy teaching trips to Italy, Iceland, and the UK funded by a conservative law school: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Kieran Corcoran | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

George Mason University funded a series of plush trips for Supreme Court justices in recent years. Per The Times, the law school sent justices on trips to European tourist spots as part of teaching programs. Gorsuch was asked to help pick which Italian city would host his teaching trip. The law school dean, Ken Randall, said students had their time there "undoubtedly enhanced by the justices teaching or visiting or speaking with students." Insider sought further comment from the law school and the court.

☆ How Scalia Law School Became a Key Friend of the Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Steve Eder | Jo Becker | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the fall of 2017, an administrator at George Mason University’s law school circulated a confidential memo about a prospective hire. Just months earlier, Neil M. Gorsuch, a federal appeals court judge from Colorado, had won confirmation to the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Antonin Scalia, the conservative icon for whom the school was named. For President Donald J. Trump, bringing Judge Gorsuch to Washington was the first step toward fulfilling a campaign promise to cement the high court unassailably on the right. For the leaders of the law school, bringing the new justice to teach at Scalia Law was a way to advance their own parallel ambition. By the winter of 2019, the law school faculty would include not just Justice Gorsuch but also two other members of the court, Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett M. Kavanaugh — all deployed as strategic assets in a campaign to make Scalia Law, a public school in the Virginia suburbs of Washington, a Yale or Harvard of conservative legal scholarship and influence.

☆ 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.

☆ Press Freedom! Celebrities! (Also, the President.)
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Katie Rogers | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON — The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is an annual celebration of the importance of the First Amendment. On Saturday night, President Biden will appear for the dinner for the second time in his presidency. He is expected to speak about the importance of press freedom and the troubling detentions of journalists around the world. Roy Wood Jr., a comedian and a correspondent for “The Daily Show,” will host the event. He told Politico this week that he would bring “Clarence Thomas jokes” and that he was not sure if his set would go over well.

☆ Bloomberg Flings Mud at Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( James Taranto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Main Street: In these highlights from a “Library of Congress” interview with Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court Justice talks about victimhood, the confirmation process and why he writes so many opinions. Images: AP/Getty Images Composite: Mark KellyWell, they’ve got him now. “Justice Clarence Thomas said he was advised he didn’t have to disclose private jet flights and luxury vacations paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow because . . . Crow ‘did not have business before the court,’ ” Bloomberg reported Monday. “But in at least one case, Crow did.”

☆ 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.

☆ Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill Mandating Code of Ethics for Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lindsay Wise | Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Angus King and Lisa Murkowski say their bipartisan bill might have a greater chance of passage in a divided Congress than Democrats’ proposals. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Press; Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Sens. Angus King (I., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) introduced a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports that raise questions about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch properly disclosed their financial activities. “It’s pitiful that we’re having to introduce this bill—it’s pathetic that the Supreme Court hasn’t done this itself,” Mr. King said.

☆ Senators to Introduce Bipartisan Bill Mandating Code of Ethics for Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lindsay Wise | Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Angus King and Lisa Murkowski say their bipartisan bill might have a greater chance of passage in a divided Congress than Democrats’ proposals. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/ZUMA Press; Kevin Dietsch/Getty ImagesWASHINGTON—Sens. Angus King (I., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) will introduce a bipartisan bill Wednesday that would require the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports that raise questions about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch properly disclosed their financial activities. “It’s pitiful that we’re having to introduce this bill—it’s pathetic that the Supreme Court hasn’t done this itself,” Mr. King said.

☆ 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."

☆ U.S. Senators to introduce bipartisan bill mandating code of ethics for Supreme Court - WSJ
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. senators Angus King and Lisa Murkowski will introduce a bipartisan bill on Wednesday requiring the U.S. Supreme Court to create its own code of conduct within a year, following media reports about whether Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch fully disclosed their financial activities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Reporting by Jyoti Narayan in Bengaluru Editing by Shri NavaratnamOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Et Tu, Juan? Clarence Thomas’s Fickle Friends Pile On
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( James Taranto | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Journal Editorial Report: The week's best and worst from Kim Strassel, Mene Ukueberuwa, Collin Levy and Dan Henninger. Images: AP/AFP/Getty Images/Zuma Press Composite: Mark KellyMitt Romney once complained that Barack Obama didn’t play fair. “I’ve been disappointed in the president’s campaign to date, which is focused on character assassination,” he told reporters in May 2012. “If the reports are accurate, it stinks,” Mr. Romney said. “I don’t have to explain more than that.” But the reports contained many inaccuracies, as I documented last week.

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