Federal courts won’t refer Justice Clarence Thomas to DOJ
The head of the federal judiciary’s policymaking body on Thursday told lawmakers that he would not refer U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged ethical violations. Secretary of the U.S. Judicial Conference Robert Conrad sent identical copies of his letter to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Rep. Henry “Hank” Johnson, D-Ga., explaining his decision.
In his letter, Conrad referenced how both Whitehouse and Johnson requested that the U.S. Judicial Conference refer Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General for investigation because of his alleged failure to properly disclose financial gifts and benefits he’d received from persons outside the court.
What was the reasoning behind this decision? Conrad told both lawmakers that referring Justice Thomas to the DOJ would raise constitutional questions since the U.S. Judicial Conference does not oversee the Supreme Court. It’s also unclear if the conference has the legal authority to refer a justice of the Supreme Court to the DOJ, Conrad said.
So has the judiciary done anything to address Thomas’ alleged behavior? The judiciary has updated its financial reporting requirements, and Thomas has agreed to abide by those new requirements, Conrad said. Since the passage of the new reporting requirements, Thomas filed amended disclosure statements addressing the lawmakers’ concerns, Conrad added.
Dig deeper: Read my report in The Sift about how Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., last year introduced articles of impeachment against Thomas over his behavior.
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