Congressman Dan Goldman Demands Hearing, Vote On SCOTUS Ethics Bill
Trust in Supreme Court Reaches Historic Lows
Follows Multiple Reports of Unethical Behavior by Justice Clarence Thomas
Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act to Establish Code of Conduct for Supreme Court Justices
Read Letter Here
Washington D.C. - Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) yesterday joined Representative Nadler (NY-02), Representative Johnson (GA-04) and 32 of his other colleagues in demanding immediate hearings and a floor vote on H.R. 926, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act. In the letter sent to House Majority Speaker McCarthy and Chairman Jordan, the Representatives stress the urgent need foroversight and action on Supreme Court ethics to preserve the integrity of the Court. Earlier this month, multiple reports uncovered decades of undisclosed gifts and travel received by Justice Clarence Thomas from political donor and political activist Harlan Crow totaling millions of dollars.
“The recent revelation of decades of repeated ethical lapses from Clarence Thomas underscores the vital need for the Supreme Court to be subject to ethics regulations,” Congressman Dan Goldman said. “Justice Thomas’ conflicts of interests have not only permanently undermined his ability to do the job, they also have severely damaged the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. Ethics regulations are imperative for the Legislative and Executive branches, and it is long past time that the Supreme Court be held to ethical standards that assure the American people that the Court is acting in the interests of the country, not the Justices.”
The Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act would create a binding code of ethics forthe Supreme Court, as well as guardrails against conflicts of interests. The SCERT Act will also require minimum lobbying, gift, travel, and income disclosure, disclosure of funding sources for amicus briefs, circumstances that require recusals, and an investigative board composed of Circuit Court judges to review complaints submitted against Supreme Court justices, and public posting of their decisions.
It has recently come to light that Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose gifts and travel from political activist Harlan Crow with at least one trip valued at over $500,000. Reports have also revealed that Crow bought properties from Justice Thomas and his relatives for at least double what Justice Thomas had said those properties were worth. Justice Thomas’ family received up to $750,000 in income yearly from a firm that has not existed since 2006.
Justice Thomas’ pattern of unethical behavior dates to at least 2011, when it was revealed that he had failed to disclose employment details for his wife, Virginia Thomas, despite her earning over $686,000 from a conservative think tank, income from a conservative college, and reimbursements for trips to speak at law schools.
Prior to the recent revelations detailing Justice Thomas’ ethical lapses, 53 percent of Americans had little or no trust in the Supreme Court to operate in the best interests of the American people.
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