'Tangled web': Senator details new idea to root out corrupt Supreme Court justices

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has an idea about how to hold Supreme Court justices accountable for improper gifts: go through the Judicial Conference, the federal body that sets guidelines for how the courts operate.

Whitehouse outlined his ideas in a lengthy thread on X, which came following reports that Justice Clarence Thomas — already under fire for failing to disclose lavish gifts paid for by billionaires with potential business before the court — took three more previously undisclosed private jet trips with right-wing megadonor Harlan Crow.

"The law is that the Judicial Conference must refer to the Attorney General for investigation any genuine question of 'willful' disclosure failure. It is not clear why that was not done in Round One; Round Two so far remains within the Conference," wrote Whitehouse. "While this went on, I asked the Judicial Conference to review the 'Scalia Trick' — orchestrating a 'personal invitation' from a resort owner for a free vacation and not disclosing it because it was 'personal hospitality.' They blew that trick up."

Thomas' lawyers, for their part, argue that eliminating the "Scalia Trick" is a new rule, and thus he is under no obligation to comply with it retroactively.

"It’s not clear how candid Thomas has been with the Judicial Conference about what gifts he received but did not disclose, and why. One of the recurring problems at the Court has been no orderly process for any factfinding," wrote Whitehouse. "It also does not explain Thomas’s incomplete compliance. These were all gifts from Harlan Crow, so why disclose some, but not others? It has long been clear that travel gifts must be disclosed (they were never personal hospitality) so why not disclose the travel gifts? It is hard to find a logical through-line as to what Thomas has and has not disclosed. There is still no complete factual picture about Round One or Round Two of Crow-to-Thomas, let alone the entire billionaire gifts program for Thomas and Alito."

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Ultimately, wrote Whitehouse, "The best way through this 'tangled web' is a referral to the Attorney General, per the law. The AG has the resources to investigate properly, is not compromised by judicial peer pressure, and can look at tax and false statements aspects. Remember: disclosure law compliance is not adjudicative; it is administrative — justices are like anyone else in government. If they break the law, it’s no answer to say 'But I’m a justice.' For this, a justice is a government employee, who must obey the law."