Sens. Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse have requested that AG Merrick Garland appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas for criminal violations of ethics and tax laws.
The Senators wrote to the Attorney General:
We write to request that you appoint a Special Counsel to investigate possible violations of federal ethics and tax laws by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Clarence Thomas. Over the past year, public reporting and Senate investigations have uncovered evidence of repeated and willful omissions of gifts and income from Justice Thomas’s financial disclosure reports required by the Ethics in Government Act. The Senate is investigating these omissions as it considers improvements to ethics and tax laws.
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We do not make this request lightly. The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have complied with their federal tax obligations. Presented with opportunities to resolve questions about his conduct, Justice Thomas has maintained a suspicious silence.
It would be great if Attorney General Garland stepped back and saw a corrupt Supreme Court majority that is unwilling to police itself, looked at the evidence surrounding Justice Thomas, concluded that an independent investigation is required, and appointed a special counsel.
The reality is that that this is the same Department of Justice that had to be presented evidence by the 1/6 Committee before they accelerated their investigation into the attack on the Capitol, so the request from the senators is likely to be rejected, as being too political too close to a presidential election.
If a criminal investigation was ever launched into Justice Thomas, it would represent a big step toward getting him off of the bench. Getting rid of Thomas has nothing to do with politics. The evidence suggests that he is a corrupt justice who does not belong on the Supreme Court.
Sens. Wyden and Whitehouse are using every tool that they have to keep the attention on Justice Thomas.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
