Tell Congress: Pass a Supreme Court Code of Conduct
U.S. Congress
It seems like every day, Justice Clarence Thomas’ ethical issues get worse.
Here’s what we’ve learned – just in the past few weeks:
- GOP mega donor and billionaire Harlan Crow paid for Thomas’ grandnephew to go to school – thousands of dollars in private school tuition for a child that Thomas was “raising as a son” [1] …
- Leonard Leo, a prominent leader of the Federalist Society, secretly directed tens of thousands of dollars to Thomas’ wife through the same nonprofit group that, later that year, went on to file a brief in the disastrous, anti-voter Shelby County v. Holder case that gutted the Voting Rights Act [2]…
- And this deluge of corruption news all came in the wake of a bombshell ProPublica report revealing that Clarence Thomas has been going on undisclosed luxury vacations on Harlan Crow’s dime [3].
Why are wealthy right-wing donors giving the Thomas family so much money – and what are they getting in return? We can’t let these massive ethical questions go unanswered – but without a Supreme Court code of conduct, we have no way to ensure our justices are acting with integrity, impartiality, and respect for the law.
Our highest court cannot be its own referee when it comes to its ethics. Tell Congress to pass a Supreme Court code of conduct.
[1] https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow
[2] https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus
[3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/05/04/leonard-leo-clarence-ginni-thomas-conway/
To:
U.S. Congress
From:
[Your Name]
We need a binding, comprehensive code of conduct to prevent even the appearance of inappropriate influence on the court. Without it, our highest court will continue to suffer a crisis of confidence – even as these nine justices make decisions that affect every one of us every day.
Congress must pass a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court – and ensure that our highest court is held to the highest ethical standards.