Supreme Court Justices Called Out Over Clarence Thomas

The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrat Dick Durbin of Illinois, has called for an enforceable code of conduct for U.S. Supreme Court justices following the latest controversy involving Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife.
Durbin’s Senate floor speech on Tuesday came after the investigative news website ProPublica claimed that Ginni Thomas had effusively praised a conservative group that was trying to prevent reform of the court.
“For more than a year, story after story has broken about ethical misconduct by sitting Supreme Court justices,” Durbin said. “We’re talking about the highest Court in the land—the nine men and women who are sitting on the Supreme Court—who are not governed by the same rules of conduct and ethical standard as every other federal judge in America.
“Justice Clarence Thomas has been at the center of many of those stories. For decades, he has accepted lavish gifts and luxury trips from a gaggle of fawning billionaires. The total dollar value of those gifts is estimated to be more than $4 million.”
The Supreme Court, facing mounting pressure over alleged ethics violations primarily aimed at Thomas and fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, issued its first formal code of conduct in November 2023. However, Durbin and others criticized the code for its lack of enforcement procedures.
Durbin spoke about the ProPublica article, which claimed that Ginni Thomas praised the conservative First Liberty Institute’s efforts to fight Supreme Court reform.
In an email to First Liberty’s Kelly Shackelford, Ginni Thomas allegedly wrote: “YOU GUYS HAVE FILLED THE SAILS OF MANY JUDGES. CAN I JUST TELL YOU, THANK YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH.”
Shackelford read Thomas’ email aloud on a call with the group’s top donors, ProPublica wrote. It included an audio recording of the call on its website.
Newsweek sought email comment from Clarence Thomas, Ginna Thomas and First Liberty Institute on Wednesday.
“When asked about her efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Ginni Thomas told Congress that she and Justice Thomas do not discuss each other’s work,” Durbin said. “That’s a little hard to believe when you see this message she sent to this organization. Her comments on behalf of judges create a clear appearance of impropriety for Justice Thomas. Accordingly, I have called for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any future case involving First Liberty Institute.
“Ginni Thomas is a political operative who regularly works with right-wing groups on issues being litigated before the Court. Federal law requires the disqualification of a Supreme Court justice in any proceeding in which the justice’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”