Washington — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are pushing Republican donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow to provide a full accounting of the gifts, trips and travel accommodations he has given to Justice Clarence Thomas and any other members of the Supreme Court.
The letter from the 11 members of the Judiciary panel, led by Chairman Dick Durbin, directs Crow to provide the committee with itemized lists of all gifts worth more than $415, real estate transactions, and transportation or lodging given to Supreme Court justices or their family members, as well as a list of the occasions when Crow provided any of the justices with entrance to any private, members-only clubs.
In addition to Crow, Senate Democrats sent letters to the entities that own Crow’s private yacht, called the Michaela Rose, plane and private lakeside resort in the Adirondacks, known as Camp Topridge. The senators want the full itinerary for all travel Thomas or any other justices took on the yacht and jet, as well as a list of all guests whose trips overlapped with the justice’s.
“The appearance of special access to the Justices — that is not available to all Americans — is corrosive to the legitimacy of the Court because, at minimum, it creates an appearance of undue influence that undermines the public’s trust in the Court’s impartiality,” they wrote in the letters.
The Judiciary Committee Democrats said the information they are seeking about the gifts, travel and accommodations that Thomas received will help “clarify the scope of ethical concerns” that future legislation should confront.
“Maintaining faith in the impartiality of the federal judiciary is a necessary prerequisite for preserving the rule of law,” they wrote. “In the absence of action by the Supreme Court to address shortcomings in its ethical standards and practices, Congress must act to restore faith in the Court by passing legislation that addresses those shortcomings.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee has turned its attention to the Supreme Court’s ethics standards in response to a steady stream of revelations about Thomas’ relationship with Crow. A series of reports from the news outlet ProPublica detailed the gifts, luxury travel and financial arrangements Thomas has benefited from during his 25-year friendship with Crow. The latest investigation from the news organization found that Crow paid for two years of tuition at private schools for Thomas’ grandnephew, which the justice did not disclose on financial disclosure forms.
Durbin invited Chief Justice John Roberts to testify before the committee last week about the ethics guidelines that the justices follow. Roberts declined to appear and instead sent Durbin a letter that included a three-page “Statement on Ethics Principles and Practices” signed by the nine justices.
The statement, though, has not quelled Democrats’ concerns about the Supreme Court, and they have warned that they could take legislative action to strengthen the ethical rules that govern the justices.
Republicans, meanwhile, have defended Thomas and instead have claimed the focus on his conduct is part of a campaign to delegitimize the Supreme Court after controversial rulings on abortion, the Second Amendment and climate change.
“We reject this manufactured ‘ethics crisis’ at the Supreme Court as a ploy to further Democrats’ efforts to undermine public confidence and change the makeup of the court,” 13 GOP senators wrote to Sen. Ron Wyden, head of the Senate Finance Committee, on Monday. “It is clear to us that Democrats are simply enraged that the court is no longer acting as a super legislature to implement progressive policies. This anger has not manifested itself in baseless smears toward the justices.”
The Republicans said there is “nothing wrong” with Thomas’ friendship and “occasional travel” with Crow.
“These attacks on the Supreme Court and the justices must end,” they wrote. “They are undermining the rule of law, endangering the security of the justices and their families, and inflicting incalculable damage on our country.”
