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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsHold Justice Clarence Thomas accountable!
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Efforts to hold Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accountable for ethics violations just jumped to the next level.
A group of House Democrats led by Rep. Louise Slaughter are now pushing for a Justice Department investigation into various possible ethics infractions by Justice Thomas.
Please sign our petition supporting the call for an investigation now.
Secretary Duff,
I support the recent letter from members of Congress urging the Judicial Conference to follow the law and refer the matter of Justice Thomas's non-compliance with the Ethics in Government Act to the Department of Justice.
Please stand up for the institution of the Supreme Court by holding Justices to an ethical standard.
The Letter from U.S. Representatives:
September 29, 2011
James C. Duff
Secretary to the Judicial Conference of the United States
Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Suite 2-301
One Columbus Circle, N.E.
Washington, DC 20544
Dear Mr. Duff:
Widespread reporting, including a recent report in The New York Times titled Friendship of Justice and Magnate Puts Focus on Ethics, raise grave concerns about the failure of Justice Clarence Thomas to meet various disclosure requirements under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. Based upon the multiple public reports, Justice Thomass actions may constitute a willful failure to disclose, which would warrant a referral by the Judicial Conference to the Department of Justice, so that appropriate civil or criminal actions can be taken.
Due to the simplicity of the disclosure requirements, along with Justice Thomass high level of legal training and experience, it is reasonable to infer that his failure to disclose his wifes income for two decades was willful, and the Judicial Conference has a non-discretionary duty to refer this case to the Department of Justice.
Throughout his entire tenure on the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas checked a box titled "none on his annual financial disclosure forms, indicating that his wife had received no income, despite the fact that his wife had in fact earned nearly $700,000 from the Heritage Foundation from 2003-2007 alone.
Furthermore, an investigation conducted by The New York Times has revealed that Justice Thomas may have, on several occasions, benefited from use of a private yacht and airplane owned by Harlan Crowe, and again failed to disclose this travel as a gift or travel reimbursement on his federal disclosure forms as required by the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
Justice Thomas's failure to disclose his wife's income for his entire tenure on the federal bench and indications that he may have failed to file additional disclosure regarding his travels require the Judicial Conference to refer this matter to the Department of Justice.
Section 104(b) of the Ethics Act requires the Judicial Conference to refer to the Attorney General of the United States any judge who the Conference "has reasonable cause to believe has willfully failed to file a report or has willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information required to be reported." If the Judicial Conference finds reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas has "willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information to be reported," it must, pursuant to §104, refer the case to the Attorney General for further determination of possible criminal or civil legal sanctions.
Particularly as questions surrounding the integrity and fairness of the Supreme Court continue to grow, it is vital that the Judicial Conference actively pursue any suspicious actions by Supreme Court Justices. While we continue to advocate for the creation of binding ethical standards for the Supreme Court, it is important the Judicial Conference exercise its current powers to ensure that Supreme Court Justices are held accountable to the current law.
As a result, we respectfully request that the Judicial Conference follow the law and refer the matter of Justice Thomas's non-compliance with the Ethics in Government Act to the Department of Justice. We eagerly await your reply.
Sincerely,
Rep. Louise Slaughter
Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
Rep. Gwen Moore
Rep. Mike Honda
Rep. Earl Blumenauer
Rep. Christopher Murphy
Rep. John Garamendi
Rep. Pete Stark
Rep. Raul Grijalva
Rep. John Olver
Rep. Jan Schakowsky
Rep. Donna Edwards
Rep. Jackie Speier
Rep. Paul Tonko
Rep. Bob Filner
Rep. Peter Welch
Rep. John Conyers
Rep. Keith Ellison
Rep. Anna Eshoo
Rep. Ed Perlmutter
think
(11,641 posts)DCKit
(18,541 posts)Thomas is going to be on the phone all night blubbering to Fat Tony, and his wife is going to be drunk dialing Anita Hill again - Somehow it must be HER fault (again).
leveymg
(36,418 posts)Very disappointed that my Congressman, Jim Moran (VA-8), hasn't yet signed on, despite my conversation with his aide urging him to do so.
icymist
(15,888 posts)This sure is taking a long time! IMPEACH THOMAS
Poll_Blind
(23,864 posts)Whereas President Obama was quite the bold one during the Anthony Weiner scandal, saying "If it was me, I'd resign", he was silent on Thomas. Didn't wanna rock the boat dontchaknow.
You can still hear them laughing till their bladders fail...
"If it was me, I'd resign"
What a maverick.
PB
lunatica
(53,410 posts)But I guess some people can be counted on to make the connection, no matter how tortured or unlikely it is.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)If not then why did Obama feel the need to speak up about Weiner?
Edited for phrasing..
lunatica
(53,410 posts)I'm not totally happy with Obama but I'm not some die hard Obama hater who finds any wild excuse to mention Obama in every thread in derogatory terms. It's infantile at best. Thomas' ethic violations are Thomas' responsibility. He's a grown up who chooses to be a crook. How is that Obama's fault?
I'm not defending Obama. I'm simply pointing out that not every last fucking thing others do is his fault.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)Just pointing out that Obama sometimes chooses to speak out and sometimes does not, he is as free to speak about Thomas as he was to speak about Weiner. Of the two offenses one is arguably more serious and worthy of presidential comment than the other.
Obama is responsible for what he does and also for what he does not do.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)That is my point. Yours and the person I responded to seem to be to trash Obama in threads that are totally unrelated to him. It comes across as whiny and it gets old.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)So I'm not sure how you got that impression.
Evidently you think it's OK for Obama to trash Democrats who may have an ethical slip but he should stay quiet about Republican ethical breaches.
I disagree with that position.
Omaha Steve
(99,833 posts)SpiralHawk
(32,944 posts)No one is above the law.
Quantess
(27,630 posts)Does anyone actually like him? He seems like he has a lousy personality as well.
lunatica
(53,410 posts)He's like a toddler throwing a tantrum.
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)and very pleased to see my congressman, Keith Ellison, is a signatory.
Thomas and his wife both belong behind bars.