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☆ Senate Democrats Seek Accounting of Gifts to Thomas and Other Justices
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Carl Hulse | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

He refused to take part in a recent Judiciary Committee hearing on possible new ethics rules, citing separation of powers issues. In the letter, the Democrats said the information they were seeking from Mr. Crow would help the committee correct shortcomings in the court’s current ethics and disclosure framework. “We’re seeking information on whether individuals with interests before the Supreme Court were able to gain access to Justices through gifts, lodging, and travel from Harlan Crow and his companies,” Mr. Durbin said in a tweet on Tuesday. Mr. Durbin has so far held back from threatening subpoenas to obtain information or compel testimony from the justices or others. Ms. Feinstein signed the new letter to Mr. Crow, but her unavailability could prevent the committee’s Democrats from winning approval of a subpoena, given Republican opposition.

☆ Senators asks billionaire for list of gifts to Supreme Court Justice Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

WASHINGTON, May 9 (Reuters) - The Senate Judiciary Committee has asked Texas billionaire Harlan Crow to detail gifts he or his companies have made to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the panel said on Tuesday. "Many of these gifts, transactions, and items of value had not been previously disclosed by Justice Thomas," it said. Similar letters, dated Monday, were sent to the holding companies that own Crow's private jet and private yacht. The letter said Crow has acknowledged items of value given to Thomas and his family in public statements. It asked him to provide the information to the committee by May 22 as the panel works to craft legislation strengthening ethics rules and standards for Supreme Court justices.

☆ Seven US senators raise concerns about Tesla use of forced arbitration clauses
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies Tesla Inc FollowWASHINGTON, May 8 (Reuters) - A group of seven U.S. senators on Monday questioned Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) use of forced arbitration clauses in employee and consumer contracts, arguing that they prevent bringing discrimination claims and consumer safety complaints to court. Tesla has said it does not tolerate workplace discrimination and takes worker complaints seriously. The senators cited an ongoing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration investigation into reports of “phantom braking" in Tesla vehicles. The senators sought answers to detailed questions by June 8 about Tesla's use of forced arbitration. The senators said arbitration clauses may keep"potential safety flaws from the public eye and limited regulatory authorities’ ability to protect Tesla customers and employees and hold Tesla publicly accountable."

A group of mostly Democratic senators pressured Tesla CEO Elon Musk to end the company's use of forced arbitration clauses in employee and customer contracts, in a letter on Monday. Forced arbitration clauses in consumer contracts have similarly obscured important details about Tesla's vehicle safety and business practices from the public, the lawmakers wrote. They asked for the same details about sexual harassment complaints from Tesla workers. However, Tesla makes and sells its cars direct to consumers so its forced arbitration clauses cover more than the norm where auto sales are concerned. Tesla uses arbitration clauses as a tactic to shunt people into a forum that's pretty rigged for the corporation."

☆ Senate Judiciary chair says ‘everything is on the table’ in response to Clarence Thomas revelations
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Aileen Graef | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin said Sunday that “everything is on the table” as the panel scrutinizes new ethics concerns around Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Crow also purchased several real estate properties, including the home where Thomas’ mother lives, from the Thomas family and paid boarding school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew, according to ProPublica. But Durbin said Sunday the recent revelations “just embarrasses me” as he called on Chief Justice John Roberts to impose a code of conduct on the court. Roberts previously declined Durbin’s request to voluntarily testify in a hearing on Supreme Court ethics. Feinstein, 89, has been away from the Senate since March as she recovers at home in California from shingles.

☆ 'High wire act': U.S. Congress gears up for immigration reform as Title 42 ends
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

It has been 37 years since Congress passed significant immigration reform, but a persistently high volume of migrants and an acute labor shortage have galvanized lawmakers. Republican Senator Thom Tillis said the end of Title 42 "sets the table" for Congress to craft new border-control laws as Republicans predict a wave of new arrivals. STARS ALIGNINGThe U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business association, has launched a campaign urging Congress to act. Republicans argue that is where the border security component comes in. Finally, passage of an immigration bill coupled with beefed-up border security could boost President Joe Biden's re-election campaign and give Republican candidates something to cheer too.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.”

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.

☆ 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.

☆ 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.

☆ Politico Aims at Gorsuch and Misses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Nicholas Tomaino | ) 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 KellyA Senate Judiciary subcommittee didn’t get much attention when it held a hearing in May 2022 titled “An Ethical Judiciary: Transparency and Accountability for 21st Century Courts.” ScotusBlog.com reported that “the primary topic of discussion” ended up being the leak of the Supreme Court’s draft opinion on abortion. The full committee plans to revisit the original topic Tuesday, this time cast as “Supreme Court Ethics Reform.” Press outlets have helped tee up the inquisition by presenting what Chairman Dick Durbin calls “a steady stream of revelations regarding Supreme Court Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and of public servants.”

[1/2] Solar panels are built at the QCells solar energy manufacturing factory in Dalton, Georgia, U.S., March 2, 2023. The Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year without a single Republican vote, is a signature Biden accomplishment and offers $369 billion investment to address climate change. This includes $270 billion in tax incentives. Republicans have portrayed the tax credits as a distortion of the free market that gives unfair advantage to clean-energy producers over fossil fuels. Frisone, of CZAR-Power, said he plans to call Republican officeholders to make his case, adding, "This is a political stunt -- why are we doing it?"

☆ 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."

☆ Chief Justice Declines to Testify Before Congress Over Ethics Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Abbie Vansickle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In the letter, Chief Justice Roberts attached a “statement of ethics principles and practices” signed by the current justices and included an appendix of the relevant laws that apply to judicial disclosures. The justices also said they may be limited in what to disclose because of security concerns. In a statement, Mr. Durbin said that the hearing would proceed regardless. “I am surprised that the chief justice’s recounting of existing legal standards of ethics suggests current law is adequate and ignores the obvious,” Mr. Durbin wrote. “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.”

☆ Chief Justice John Roberts Asked to Address ‘Ethical Standards’ at Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Jess Bravin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Sen. Dick Durbin invited Chief Justice John Roberts to appear personally or send another justice to testify. Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg NewsWASHINGTON—The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Chief Justice John Roberts to testify at a public hearing on Supreme Court ethics rules, after Justice Clarence Thomas has come under scrutiny for accepting luxury trips from and selling real estate to a Texas billionaire and donor to conservative causes. “There has been a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling short of the ethical standards expected of other federal judges and, indeed, of public servants generally,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) said in a Thursday letter to the chief justice.

[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.

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.

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.

☆ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly has been claiming thousands of dollars annually from a shuttered real estate firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-16 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas arrives for the swearing in ceremony of Judge Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Supreme Court Justice in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, April 10, 2017. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas reported on financial disclosure forms that his family has earned thousands of dollars in rental income from a Nebraska real estate firm that has been shuttered since 2006, according to a report by the Washington Post Sunday. Thomas has reported income from a firm called Ginger, Ltd., Partnership over the last two decades, but in 2006 it was shut down and replaced by a new firm, the report said. In recent years, Thomas reportedly continued to disclose between $50,000 and $100,000 in income from the old firm annually. ProPublica later reported that Crow bought property from Thomas as well, which the justice also failed to disclose.

☆ Sen. Feinstein requested to temporarily have someone replace her on the Judiciary Committee amid health concerns, but Republicans could prevent that from happening
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee. Without her in Washington, DC, Democrats have been unable to confirm as many Biden judges as preferred. Feinstein currently sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Democrats hold 11 seats compared to the Republican Party's 10. Feinstein released a statement saying that she asked Schumer to have a Democrat temporarily replace her on the Judiciary Committee until her health concerns subside. If Republicans in the Senate prevent the committee change from happening, it could lead to even more pressure from Democrats for Feinstein to resign.

☆ House Dems start to call on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two Democratic members of Congress just called on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to retire. "I agree with @RoKhanna," Phillips wrote, "Senator Feinstein is a remarkable American whose contributions to our country are immeasurable. Feinstein, who's 89 years old, hasn't cast a vote since mid-February, around the time of her shingles diagnosis. Feinstein currently sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Democrats hold 11 votes to the Republican Party's 10. Without Feinstein present, committee chair Sen. Dick Durbin has for delay committee meetings on multiple occasions when Feinstein would be the pivotal 11th vote, according to NBC News.

☆ Thomas revelation fits a broader pattern of nondisclosure
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-12 | by ( Joan Biskupic | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Washington CNN —The recent revelations of lavish gifts and travel that a Republican megadonor showered on Justice Clarence Thomas reflect a larger Supreme Court culture of nondisclosure, little explanation, and no comment. The incident reflects the broader lack of accountability at the high court regarding off-bench behavior. Justices regularly brush aside reporters’ queries for specifics on travel and gifts, book advances and other extracurricular activities. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin made another such plea to Roberts this week as he also urged the chief justice to open an investigation into Thomas’ conduct. Chief justice on the spotRoberts, who became chief justice in 2005, has continually described the high court as beyond the realm of politics and worthy of public trust.

The hearing, they said, would focus on "the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court's ethical standards." "And if the court does not resolve this issue on its own, the committee will consider legislation to resolve it," they told Roberts. ProPublica reported on Thursday that Thomas accepted expensive trips from Republican donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow over decades without disclosing them. Thomas defended the trips on Friday, saying he had been advised he was not required to report that type of "personal hospitality." Crow told ProPublica he had "never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue."

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