Senate SCOTUS hearing highlights disclosure errors by Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Ketanji Brown Jackson’s Transparency Gaps Highlighted in Senate Supreme Court Hearing

Senator John Kennedy Questions Democrats’ Scrutiny of Justice Clarence Thomas

During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ethics reform for the Supreme Court, Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) brought attention to transparency issues surrounding Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Kennedy questioned why Democrats did not subject Jackson to the same level of scrutiny as they did with Justice Clarence Thomas.

The hearing was prompted by reports that Thomas failed to disclose paid trips with wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow. Democrats have called for Congress to impose ethics rules, while Republicans argue that the justices are capable of governing themselves.

Kennedy pointed out that Jackson made multiple amendments to her disclosures three days after President Biden nominated her, yet no senator brought it up during her confirmation hearings. He criticized his colleagues for not subjecting Jackson to the same level of scrutiny as they did with Thomas.

In September, Jackson disclosed that she had “inadvertently omitted” information about her spouse’s self-employed consulting income related to medical malpractice cases. Her revisions also revealed new information about reimbursements for travel and board memberships dating back to at least 2014.

Kennedy criticized news reports surrounding Thomas, accusing “some Democrats and their media allies” of attempting to create hit pieces on the longest-serving sitting justice and his Republican-appointed colleagues. ProPublica highlighted Thomas’s failure to disclose travel gifts from Crow and a Georgia property transaction the donor had with the justice. Thomas recently said he did not report the sale because he did not make a profit. Politico also reported that Justice Neil Gorsuch was the joint owner of a Colorado property he sold to a major law firm CEO.

Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for a code of conduct with clear and enforceable rules for the Supreme Court. Durbin had requested Chief Justice John Roberts to testify for the hearing, but his request was denied. Roberts issued a letter signed by all the justices that included “a Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices to which all of the current Members of the Supreme Court subscribe.”

Ranking member Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) called the recent reports on the justices a “concentrated effort by the Left to delegitimize the court and to cherry-pick examples to make a point.”

Key Takeaways:

• Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) questioned why Democrats did not subject Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the same level of scrutiny as they did with Justice Clarence Thomas during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on ethics reform for the Supreme Court.
• Reports revealed that Thomas failed to disclose paid trips with wealthy GOP donor Harlan Crow.
• Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) called for a code of conduct with clear and enforceable rules for the Supreme Court.
• Ranking member Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) accused the Left of attempting to delegitimize the court and cherry-picking examples to make a point.