{"id":2385811,"date":"2025-01-02T20:58:01","date_gmt":"2025-01-03T01:58:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clarence-thomas-wont-face-justice-department-referral-over-ethics-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-01-02T20:59:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-03T01:59:26","slug":"clarence-thomas-wont-face-justice-department-referral-over-ethics-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clarence-thomas-wont-face-justice-department-referral-over-ethics-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Clarence Thomas won\u2019t face Justice Department referral over ethics &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fclarence-thomas-wont-face-justice-department-referral-over-ethics-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2385811&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Judicial Conference\u2063 has\u200d declined a \u2063request from Democratic lawmakers to refer Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas \u200cto the Department \u200bof Justice over allegations that he failed to disclose gifts\u2064 and\u200d travel from wealthy benefactor Harlan\u2062 Crow. In letters made public, Robert J. Conrad Jr., Secretary of the Judicial Conference, informed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin \u2063and Representative \u2064Hank Johnson that the conference does not have \u200coversight authority\u200b over Supreme Court justices. This decision follows reports by ProPublica that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ethics-experts-alarmed-by-nearly-100-decrease-in-clinton-foundation-donations-since-250-million-peak-in-2009\/\" title=\"Ethics Experts Alarmed By Nearly 100% Decrease In Clinton Foundation Donations Since 0 Million Peak In 2009\u00a0\">raised ethical concerns<\/a> regarding Thomas&#8217; luxury travel gifts. Conrad stated that while justices voluntarily participate in financial reporting, it\u200c is not the conferenceS role to\u200d supervise them.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Clarence Thomas won&rsquo;t face Justice Department referral over ethics<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1924662\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>The federal judicial policymaking body smacked down a request by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democratic-party\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Democratic<\/a> lawmakers to refer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Supreme Court<\/a> Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/clarence-thomas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Clarence Thomas<\/a> to the Department of Justice over allegations he failed to disclose gifts and travel provided by a wealthy benefactor.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In a trio of letters made public on Thursday, Robert J. Conrad Jr., the secretary to the U.S. Judicial Conference, told Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) that the body would not act on their referral request.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/senate\/3031916\/durbin-left-supreme-court-pressure-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The lawmakers<\/a>&nbsp;initially sought a Biden DOJ investigation back in April 2023 after&nbsp;<em>ProPublica&nbsp;<\/em>released a series of stories raising ethical concerns about the luxury travel gifts Thomas received from his friend, real estate mogul Harlan Crow.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &ndash; Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses for a photo at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&ldquo;The Judicial Conference does not superintend the Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States,&rdquo; Conrad wrote in response to their request to have Thomas referred to Attorney General Merrick Garland, adding that the justices have voluntarily agreed to comply with <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">financial reporting requirements applicable<\/a> to other federal judges.<\/p>\n<p>Conrad also said there were &ldquo;constitutional questions&rdquo; about whether the Judicial Conference could do anything that the lawmakers were asking them to do without an explicit declaration by Congress in the governing statute at issue, the&nbsp;authority to refer judges to the DOJ for investigations into whether they &ldquo;willfully&rdquo; violated their reporting obligations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There is reason to doubt that the Conference has any such authority&rdquo; over Supreme Court justices, Conrad said, noting that &ldquo;one would expect Congress at a minimum to state any such directive clearly.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While the conference oversees financial disclosure rules for federal judges, its authority over Supreme Court justices remains a largely untouched issue that has left legal experts in a state of perpetual debate, even causing some progressive advocates such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasia Cortez (D-NY) to call for Thomas&rsquo;s impeachment.<\/p>\n<p>At the height of the ethics debate surrounding the high court, Justice Samuel Alito <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/samuel-alito-the-supreme-courts-plain-spoken-defender-precedent-ethics-originalism-5e3e9a7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">told<\/a> the <em>Wall Street Journal<\/em>, &ldquo;No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court&mdash;period.&rdquo; Conversely, Justice Elena Kagan has publicly said she thinks Congress does have the power to regulate the high court.<\/p>\n<p>In November 2023, the high court ultimately adopted an independent ethics code, which is not enforceable by the conference, a move that dissatisfied some Democratic critics. The justices maintained in a statement signed by all nine that they had always followed the same guidance bound to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/government-unions-have-been-stealing-money-for-years-now-scotus-has-the-chance-to-intervene\/\" title=\"Government Unions Have Been Stealing Money For Years \u2014 Now, SCOTUS Has The Chance To Intervene\">lower court judges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic outrage over ethics on the judiciary has prompted some conservative advocates to paint the accusations as contrived political efforts to discredit the Supreme Court in light of its 6-3 Republican-appointed majority, which was cemented with the help of President-elect Donald Trump during his first term in office.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>CLICK HERE&nbsp;TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In December 2023, the Center for Renewing America founder Russ Vought, who is Trump&rsquo;s pick to be director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote a complaint to the conference over Biden-appointed Justice <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ketanji-brown-jackson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ketanji Brown Jackson<\/a>&lsquo;s &ldquo;willful and illegal&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/2575742\/nomination-of-ketanji-brown-jacksons-husband-to-judicial-commission-prompts-ethics-concerns-lawyer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">failure to disclose her husband&rsquo;s medical malpractice<\/a> consulting income.<\/p>\n<p>Conrad responded Thursday, affirming that like Thomas, Jackson also amended her disclosures in light of a previous failure to report her husband&rsquo;s income, negating any need to address the matter further.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1924662\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1924662\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Clarence Thomas won&#8217;t be referred to the DOJ over ethics claims<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2633,"featured_media":2385812,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/clarence-thomas-1024x599.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[34632,4381,33600],"class_list":["post-2385811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-clarence-thomas","tag-ethics","tag-justice-department"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/clarence-thomas-1024x599.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2633"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2385811"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2385815,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2385811\/revisions\/2385815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2385812"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2385811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2385811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2385811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}