Sheldon Whitehouse has been leading this charge for quite some time, and he hasn’t quit.
Now Pro Publica is bringing the receipts.
And it sounds like even Dick Durbin is willing to start playing hardball.
Maybe this is the one-two punch that is needed in order to move off the mark?
That’s why when the Senate returns after the July 4th recess, the Senate Judiciary Committee will mark up Supreme Court ethics legislation.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) June 21, 2023
I hope that before that time, Chief Justice Roberts will take the lead and bring Supreme Court ethics in line with all other federal judges.
But if the Court won’t act, then Congress must.
— Senator Dick Durbin (@SenatorDurbin) June 21, 2023
Justice Alito’s response to this latest reporting shows exactly why this Supreme Court urgently needs an ethics overhaul to hold the justices accountable for the many instances of ethical wrongdoings that continue to come to light.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 21, 2023
I’m pleased that @JudiciaryDems Chairman @SenatorDurbin has announced plans to take up Supreme Court ethics legislation in the Judiciary Committee so we can clean up this mess and bring the Court into alignment with the rest of the federal courts and other branches of government.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 21, 2023
If the Supreme Court isn’t going to do anything to restore the public’s trust, then it’s up to us in Congress to ensure that our nation’s highest Court does not have the lowest ethical standards.
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) June 21, 2023
Also a hero – Pro Publica for doing these investigations.
As Betty Cracker mentioned earlier, they take donations here if you’re interested.
Open thread.
cain
Pro Publica is showing everyone how journalism should be done. We should all be having subscriptions to this rag.
Kay
love him
Chacal Charles Calthrop
I know it’s bad for Supreme Court justices to take private, expensive vacations paid for by friendly billionaires, but I just can’t help wondering …. does OceanGate expeditions, or any company affiliated with those guys, have any business in front of the nation’s highest court?
Because I really wouldn’t mind those guys escorting Alito and Thomas to view the remains of the Titanic. In fact, I’d freely forgive the $250K unreported expense involved!
Just a thought.
p.a.
What was Scalito’s response? Whinging before a captive FedSoc audience?
WaterGirl
@Kay: I missed that one! Whitehouse is not afraid to call it what it is.
Spanky
I think it needs repeated more often that creating ethics laws won’t stop judges from ethical violations. Elevating ethical persons to become judges will.
hells littlest angel
With judges as openly and shamelessly as corrupt as Alito and Thomas, whatever legislation the Senate comes up with — in the unlikely event it actually gets passed into law — will be little more than a bandaid.
cain
Fyi .. after decades of trying, Oregon finally sent a bill to the governor that will allow us to pump our own gas ! 😁⛽
SpaceUnit
This court would simply rule any congressional oversight or ethics legislation unconstitutional.
Ken
The journalistic principle of bothsiderism says that you should also post links to Alito’s and Thomas’s donation pages.
WaterGirl
@p.a.: He sort of preemptively said “nothing to see here” in a whiny article or op ed BEFORE the story even came out.
WaterGirl
@Ken: Yeah, no.
Martin
Ok, ethics legislation.
But these were federal crimes committed. Why not start out with a referral to DOJ, and then do the ethics legislation. Why is Whitehouse and others proceeding as though Supreme Court justices are not federal employees? Sure, they’re not executive branch, where most federal employees are, but if we continue to treat Congress and USSC and former presidents as being unencumbered by federal law, that seems to be the real underlying problem.
Gvg
It has to have a procedure to remove justices from office that is non political?
involuntary recusal if a federal judicial panel rules they must?
Tax penalties? Fines? Jail terms? I mean regular judges go to jail for accepting bribes.
There have to be consequences for not reporting every little thing AND they have to be forbidden to accept most things, even gifts from friends.
WaterGirl
@Martin: I believe that Whitehouse and/or Durbin or the Judical Committee already referred the case to the DOJ weeks ago. Or at least started the process.
Someone here will correct me if I’m wrong. :-)
Raven
I hit em for a bit.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ken:
Damn you! I was going to make that “joke.”
Martin
@cain: Will you need to take some kind of course first? That’s a substantial skill deficiency among the state residents.
Last year Martin twice defiantly pumped his own gas in Oregon because there was nobody around to stop him. He continues to evade authorities to this day.
dm
Gosh, I’ve really been feeling like I get my money’s worth with my monthly donation to Pro-Publica the last couple of years.
Gvg
@Martin: what federal crime though? We so far haven’t I think proven a direct bribe.
What we have is an ongoing long term seduction and changing the whole mindset of these susceptible men to identify with these billionaires. Even though they aren’t they are being made to feel like they belong, and carefully being protected from noticing that they are actually much less rich than these sly seducers. Thomas and Alito actually think these men are their friends or have convinced themselves they do. If they weren’t Supreme Court justices, they would never get these invites. That is the corruption. I don’t know that it’s breaking a law.
the tax laws seem to say the giver has to report the gift, not the receiver, so the justices may be ok there too.
I think they must have broken some law, but I can’t name it.
cain
@Martin:
Ha ! I grew up in Indiana I know all about pumping gas !
I came back one time and completely forgot and started pumping my own gas much to the consternation of the gas attendant. 😂
Welcome back, we have missed you !
West of the Rockies
@cain:
Actually, that’s one of the things I like about Oregon. Would that bill not put some people out of a job (albeit a not challenging job that exposes folks to a lot of fumes)?
Mousebumples
Serious question – anyone know what impact SC ethics standards would have? Any reason that those would affect Alito & Thomas, or will they just result in more whiny opeds?
Less serious question – any thoughts on if Alito’s oped will have a Streisand effect? Get conservatives and independents who don’t read ProPublica to check out their reporting… And vote/volunteer/donate accordingly…? 🤔
Hoodie
@Martin: I’m not sure there are any penalties associated with the failure to disclose and it’s unclear as to what other laws would apply. There need to be specific laws with penalties, e.g., fines for taking gifts valued over $x from persons other than immediate family members, fines for failing to report financial conflicts, etc. They might invalidate such laws, but make them try to do it.
On another note, SC judges get paid $275k per year, which is certainly a good income but basically what starting associates at white shoe law firms get paid. It seems like assholes like Thomas and Alito resent that they’re paid too little and think they’re entitled to wet their beaks. The Federalist Society takes advantage of this, breeding these compliant drones to do the bidding of rich people knowing that they’ll be easily kept in line by the desire to mix with billionaires on fancy junkets and collect speaking fees at bullshit conferences.
RSA
For what it’s worth, my federal government organization (in the U.S. Army) has instituted a new policy by which we undergo quarterly ethics training.
I read the news about Supreme Court justices, and I think, “Yup, that would get me fired, if not sent to prison.”
Ken
@Omnes Omnibus: You can do the joke after Pro Publica’s piece on Kavanaugh.
Ken
@RSA: For what it’s also worth, my private-sector, very capitalist employer has twice-yearly ethics training, and I would be fired for accepting gifts from a client.
Jackie
@cain: YAY!!! For the first time ever, this Washingtonian won’t get yelled at for absentmindedly attempting to pump my own gas!
Back in the ‘60s, my Dad fought for self service gas stations and finally prevailed. He had a Flying J franchise and it had the combo of self service pumps (5 cents cheaper/gallon) and full service pumps. On Tues, it was “Ladies Day” and if a female pumped her own gas it was an extra nickel off per gallon. Dad credited himself with teaching women to be self sufficient at the gas pumps. My sisters and I rotated pumping gas in his car every Tues and became experts before we were teenagers!
Another Scott
@Hoodie: There are already such rules for federal employees. E.g. Department of the Interior:
(Emphasis added.)
A potential complication is that these folks have lifetime appointments, while under “good behavior”. Obviously, accepting bribes would seem not to be good behavior…
This stuff isn’t complicated.
Lots and lots of federal employees (and government officials in general) are underpaid. They understand that they’re not making as much money as they would elsewhere. Good people accept the bargain, and take their responsibilities to the rest of us seriously.
Grr…,
Scott.
Scout211
@cain: Wow. That’s a big change for Oregon. I’m driving up I-5 through Oregon this weekend. It always feels so retro to hand the pump person your card and not have to get out of the car. I will miss that.
On the other hand, years ago, they used to wash your windshield, too.
Martin
@Gvg:
Except as permitted by subsection (b), no Member of Congress or officer or employee of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch shall solicit or accept anything of value from a person—
(1) seeking official action from, doing business with, or (in the case of executive branch officers and employees) conducting activities regulated by, the individual’s employing entity; or
(2) whose interests may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the individual’s official duties.
There does not need to be an established quid pro quo here. Basically interpreted as don’t take anything of value from anyone that you wouldn’t normally recuse yourself from interacting with at work – so family and personal friends are okay, and nobody else is.
As a former public employee, any offer of a gift was to be assumed as an entry point for a bribe, because once you’ve taken the gift, you can then be pretty easily extorted into the other half of the quid pro quo. So nothing from vendors, individuals, and so on.
It is possible these justices made it through law school and onto USSC and yet are dumb enough to not understand this, but I find that extraordinarily hard to believe. I mean, I figured that out at 23 and I had some pretty fucking stupid ideas at 23.
Martin
@Another Scott: We’re really not underpaid, though. You realize how good their pension and health benefits are right?
Sure, as a private lawyer they could probably earn more, but this is a cush job that will pay them this salary until they’re in the ground, whether they’re working or not.
Ruckus
@cain:
THE HORROR!
Pumping your own gas? How in the hell is that going to work? Oh wait, we’ve been doing that here in CA for what – 60 yrs. In many stations there is no attendant to pump the gas. There is a 76 station that gas it $4.90/gal of regular (cash) and the only person that works there is the cashier in the booth.
Betty
@hells littlest angel: The key point is that the House may not go along. And then, the enforcement mechanism will be key to compliance.
Betty
@Scout211: To me it is the whole service aspect that mattered. They would even offer to check your oil back in the old days.
evodevo
@Gvg:
The Roberts Court pretty much gutted the meaning of quid pro quo in their 2013 and 2016 decisions…https://www.motherjones.com/impeachment/2019/11/how-a-conservative-supreme-court-justice-influenced-the-ways-we-talk-about-quid-pro-quo/