Supreme Court Corruption (Formerly Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire) (1 Viewer)

[cuddlemonkey]

It seems that a billionaire GOP donor has spent a small fortune on vacations for Ginni and Clarence Thomas.

Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire

Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.

www.propublica.org

 

[MT15]

 

[MT15]

Why don’t they recuse themselves before they get exposed?

 

[J-DONK]

This almost feels like a bad faith argument itself. What are you supposed to do other then be critical? The court refuses even the smallest amount of oversight. Roberts refused to testify in front of the senate. That only leaves the "4th estate" aka journalist.

The press has established a pattern of behavior endemic amongst the senior conservatives members of the court. The only people trying to argue the minutiae of each instance are conservatives.

The point no one can talk around is "Why are you not disclosing this if you don't think it's wrong?"

 

[MT15]

This almost feels like a bad faith argument itself. What are you supposed to do other then be critical? The court refuses even the smallest amount of oversight. Roberts refused to testify in front of the senate. That only leaves the "4th estate" aka journalist.

The press has established a pattern of behavior endemic amongst the senior conservatives members of the court. The only people trying to argue the minutiae of each instance are conservatives.

The point no one can talk around is "Why are you not disclosing this if you don't think it's wrong?"

I don’t think he meant we shouldn’t be critical. What I took from him was that we should not spend all of our energy being critical, and neglect doing the work needed to establish a code of ethics. If we get into quibbles about every last incident, we lose sight of what we need to do. I think he was mainly speaking to the Congress - don’t just be outraged, do something.

 

[DJ1BigTymer]

The GOP love to complain about the Dems and their activist judges when, in fact, the GOP are the ones filling up the courts with exactly that at both the Fed and the State level. Hell, the majority of the justices appointed by the GOP were GOP operatives before their appointment to the SCOTUS and they haven't stopped being operatives for them.

 

[GrandAdmiral]

The GOP love to complain about the Dems and their activist judges when, in fact, the GOP are the ones filling up the courts with exactly that at both the Fed and the State level. Hell, the majority of the justices appointed by the GOP were GOP operatives before their appointment to the SCOTUS and they haven't stopped being operatives for them.

The Roberts Court is a joke. One of the worse in history, especially from an ethical standpoint. And when you consider the likes of the Taney Court, that says a lot.

 

[MT15]

Sen. Whitehouse is pretty good at this.

 

[MT15]

 

[MT15]

So now Rs are bringing up Sotomayor’s book deal. Well, first of all she disclosed it in accordance with the rules, and Barrett and Gorsuch also have book deals. Not the same.

 

[zztop]

Justice Clarence Thomas let GOP donor pay tuition: Report

A Republican donor paid two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and Thomas didn't disclose the payments. That confirmation of a published report comes from a lawyer who's represented Thomas and his wife, Virginia. The revelation of tuition...

apnews.com

 

[J-DONK]

I keep waiting for news about Kavanaugh to drop as well. They buried that info like the rape allegations.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo arranged for the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work just over a decade ago, specifying that her name be left off billing paperwork, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post.


In January 2012, Leo instructed the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway to bill a nonprofit group called the Judicial Education Project and use that money to pay Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the documents show.

The same year, the Judicial Education Project filed a brief to the Supreme Court in a landmark voting rights case.


Leo, an adviser to the Judicial Education Project and a key figure in a network of nonprofits that has worked to support the nominations of conservative judges, told Conway that he wanted her to “give” Ginni Thomas “another $25K,” the documents show.

He emphasized that the paperwork should have “No mention of Ginni, of course.”

Conway’s firm, the Polling Company, sent the Judicial Education Project a $25,000 bill that day. Per Leo’s instructions, it listed the purpose as “Supplement for Constitution Polling and Opinion Consulting,” the documents show.


In all, according to the documents, the Polling Company paid Thomas’s firm, Liberty Consulting, $80,000 between June 2011 and June 2012, and it expected to pay $20,000 more before the end of 2012.

The documents reviewed by The Post do not indicate the precise nature of any work Thomas did for the Judicial Education Project or the Polling Company……..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/05/04/leonard-leo-clarence-ginni-thomas-conway/

 

[zztop]

Sen. Whitehouse is pretty good at this.

I thought this person's name was familiar. Apparently he has been raising issues for like the past 10 years now. Maybe some will start to listen

(from 2021)

Whitehouse bolsters push to shine light on ‘dark money’ at Supreme Court - Roll Call

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is highlighting a slice of government accountability that can be inscrutable to the public and unwieldy to describe.

rollcall.com

(from 2018)

Janus and the Rise of Dark Money “Justice” ✦ OnLabor

In February, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Janus v. AFSCME. Today, a slight majority of the Court issued a decision that regrettably impacts far more than just “fair share” fees and the more than 40-year-old precedent established by Abood v. Detroit Board of Education that declared...

onlabor.org

 

[MT15]

 

[Optimus Prime]

The Democratic chair of the Senate finance committee has reiterated his threat to subpoena Harlan Crow, the Republican mega-donor whose gifts to the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas are the source of scandal.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/04/the-supermajority-review-supreme-court-trump
In a statement Ron Wyden of Oregon accused Crow of “doubling down on bogus legal theories as he continues to stonewall basic questions about his gifts to Clarence Thomas and his family.

“Vague, carefully-worded assurance that everything is on the level [are] simply not good enough … I’ve already begun productive discussions with the finance committee on next steps to compel answers to our questions from Mr Crow, including by subpoena, and those discussions will continue,” Wyden said.

Wyden was responding to a letter from Crow’s lawyer, Michael Bopp, sent late last week in answer to Wyden’s demand for a list of gifts.

ProPublica has detailed gifts from Crow to Thomas including luxury travel and resort stays, a property purchase and the paying of school fees.

Thomas did not declare most such gifts. He has said he was advised he did not have to but would do so in future. On Wednesday, it was revealed that Thomas had asked for more time to complete his annual financial disclosures.

Crow has claimed not to have discussed politics or business before the court with Thomas or with his wife, the far-right activist Ginni Thomas.

The Guardian has shown Crow has had business before the court during his friendship with Thomas.

Democrats and activists have called for Thomas to resign or be impeached – the former vastly unlikely, the latter a political non-starter..........

Mega-donor faces new Senate subpoena threat over gifts to Clarence Thomas

Senator Ron Wyden, chair of finance panel, warns of ‘next steps’ to compel testimony of Harlan Crow about supreme court justice

www.theguardian.com

 

[MT15]

Alito’s turn.

 

[MT15]

What a shock, Alito also vacationed on a billionaire‘s dime.

Justice Samuel Alito Took Luxury Fishing Vacation With GOP Billionaire Who Later Had Cases Before the Court

In the years after the undisclosed trip to Alaska, Republican megadonor Paul Singer’s hedge fund has repeatedly had business before the Supreme Court. Alito has never recused himself.

www.propublica.org

 

[zztop]