Senate Democrats want to bring Clarence Thomas before an ethics hearing: report

Senate Democrats are considering asking Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to come before an ethics hearing following a series of financial scandals, reported POLITICO on Monday.

"Democrats on the Judiciary Committee met Monday evening in Chair Dick Durbin’s (D-Ill.) office to discuss details of the hearing, which is still in the planning stages," reported Katherine Tully-McManus and Burgess Everett. "'We’re going to have hearings. This work period, I hope. Maybe even in the next few weeks,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said after the meeting. Rather than making the politically explosive move of subpoenaing Thomas, Blumenthal said he hoped the justice would answer committee members’ questions voluntarily."

Reporting from ProPublica revealed that Thomas, one of the Court's most far-right members, has been accepting hundreds of thosuands of dollars in luxury travel and accommodations from billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow. A follow-up report indicated that Crow also bought real estate from Thomas. None of this was disclosed.

Thomas claimed that ethics laws were vague and he didn't believe disclosure of these transactions was necessary — which legal experts broadly disagree with. He updated his disclosures to reflect the real estate purchase.

"'What he did is really unprecedented, the magnitude of the gifts and luxury travel but the money changing hands and the nondisclosure,' said Blumenthal," the report continued. "Senators are still hoping that the Supreme Court will take its own action, but Durbin said his panel was also open to discussing proposals to impose a formal code of ethics on the court."

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