Blumenauer calls for ethics investigation of Clarence Thomas
Kari Chisholm
On Wednesday, Congressman Earl Blumenauer and roughly a dozen of his Congressional colleagues called on the House Judiciary Committee to open hearings to determine if Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas committed ethical lapses - including those that might lead to impeachment.
“Reports of potential ethical lapses by Justice Thomas’s actions give rise to concerns about conflicts of interest undermining appellants’ rights of due process and also raise substantive questions about Justice Thomas’s ability to retain his seat,” said the letter, which was written by Blumenauer and will be delivered today.
“We urge that your committee hold hearings regarding the nature of these questions, their factual basis, and their potential to undermine the public’s trust in the Supreme Court,” it says.
What alleged ethical lapses? From Blumenauer's letter (pdf):
Not only did Justice Thomas fail to report at least $1.6 million in income from his wife's employer, but the very public role played by his wife as co-founder, president and CEO of Liberty Central clearly merits investigation considering that federal law bars judges from participating in any matter in which their impartiality could be questioned.
The very public role played by his wife in opposing healthcare reform, and Justice Thomas’ insinuations in public speeches that he supports her positions, raises clear questions about the appearance of bias," it continues.
Discuss.
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8:57 a.m.
Oct 6, '11
Full disclosure: My firm built Earl Blumenauer's campaign website. I speak only for myself.
11:52 a.m.
Oct 6, '11
Common Cause has been researching lapses in disclosure on ethics forms for some time. Information on that work and links to earlier press coverage along the way are here.
The latest wrinkle is that "newly found copies of old disclosure forms indicate that Justice Thomas had properly completed them for at least seven years before he began checking “NONE” on the section seeking details about his wife’s employment."
When Justice Thomas amended these returns he indicated that he didn't understand what was required, but he had been filling out the reports correctly. Read all those details and calls by Alliance for Justice and Common Cause for an investigation.
11:54 a.m.
Oct 7, '11
From Justice Thomas
“It has come to my attention that information regarding my spouse’s employment required in Part III.B of my financial disclosure report was inadvertently omitted due to a misunderstanding of the filing instructions.”
Well... at least he doesn't have a job where his understanding of legal forms could effect the entire country. That would be a disaster.
3:20 p.m.
Oct 7, '11
Chuck, Adopt a needy Supreme Court Justice! Help him continue the tradition of life tenure with no accountability!
3:21 p.m.
Oct 7, '11
I want to add that I'm very pleased with my representative's work on this long-overdue issue. Good job, Earl!