Dem senator vows action after explosive report on Clarence Thomas receiving secret trips

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, vowed "action" on Wednesday in the wake of a new report claiming that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has for years been receiving secret luxury trips funded by a right-wing billionaire.

In a statement that was put out hours after ProPublica published a major new report on Thomas' trips funded by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow — which were never revealed publicly despite laws requiring such disclosures — Durbin argued that such actions were unbecoming of a Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

"The highest court in the land shouldn't have the lowest ethical standards," Durbin said. "Today's ProPublica report reveals that Justice Thomas has for years accepted luxury travel on private yachts and jets and a litany of other gifts that he failed to disclose. That behavior is simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice of the Supreme Court."

Durbin concluded his statement by vowing to not just let these undisclosed trips slide.

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"The ProPublica report is a call to action, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will act," he said, although he did not specify what kind of actions he would take.