Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh said Thursday that he's “hopeful” the court will move to address ethics issues that have roiled it in recent months, The Washington Post reported.
“The chief justice spoke about that in May and said that we’re continuing to work on those issues and that is accurate, we are continuing to work on those issues,” Kavanaugh said, referring to previous comments by Chief Justice John Roberts.
“And I’m hopeful that there will be some concrete steps taken soon on that.”
“We’re nine public servants that are hard-working and care a lot about the court and care a lot about the judiciary as a whole," he said, adding that the justices “want that respect for the institution to be shared by the American people.
"To the extent that we can increase confidence, we’re working on that.”
The Court has come under scrutiny after reports about the activity of Justice Clarence Thomas, who was discovered to have been taking lavish gifts from a billionaire without reporting them.
Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. has also been criticized for not properly accounting for luxurious travel outings that were paid for by Republican benefactors, as well as other financial transactions.
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"Both Thomas and Alito maintain that the ethics rules do not require disclosure of trips paid for by friends — and did not require reporting of private jet travel until a rules change earlier this year," The Post's report stated. "Experts are divided on that question, but generally agree that Thomas should have reported his property sale to Harlow Crow, a billionaire businessman who is the justice’s benefactor," the Post reported.
Read the full report over at The Washington Post.