All articles tagged with #ethics rules
Joseph Tirrell, a top ethics official at the DOJ, was unexpectedly fired after training Pam Bondi on ethics rules, amid broader concerns about politically motivated dismissals of federal employees, raising fears about the politicization of the department.
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's wife, Martha-Ann Alito, explained that the inverted American flag flown at their home in January 2021 was an "international signal of distress" due to a neighborhood dispute, not a political protest. The incident, which involved a conflict with a neighbor over anti-Trump signs, has resurfaced amid controversy over Alito's displays of flags associated with Trump supporters. This has led to criticism from both Democrats and some Republicans, and renewed calls for Supreme Court ethics rules.
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett expressed support for a code of conduct for the Supreme Court, stating that it would be a "good idea" and that the justices already hold themselves to the highest ethical standards. The court has faced scrutiny over alleged ethics lapses, prompting calls for a new ethics code. Other justices, including Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh, have also expressed support for such a code. The court has yet to adopt a code, but Chief Justice John Roberts has indicated that they are exploring ways to reflect their commitment to ethical standards.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) said that Congress has the power to reform Supreme Court ethics rules, despite arguments that it would violate the separation of powers. Whitehouse pointed out that the ethics law at the center of the controversy surrounding Clarence Thomas’ failure to disclose gifts he received while serving on the court is a law Congress passed. However, he also acknowledged that Congress has no say in cases within the judicial branch of government.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been flying around the country for what appears to be campaign events ahead of his expected announcement of a 2024 presidential bid. However, he has not yet formally announced his candidacy, allowing him to avoid campaign finance rules that would require him to publicly report donations. DeSantis has been using private jets provided by anonymous wealthy allies, arranged by a Michigan nonprofit called And To The Republic, which protects the identities of those funding the trips. Ethics experts have raised concerns about the lack of transparency and the potential for powerful secret donors to influence political candidates.
The recent revelations about Justice Clarence Thomas's failure to disclose gifts from a Republican donor have highlighted the fact that the Supreme Court has the weakest ethics rules in the federal government. However, proposals in Congress to force the court to adopt a stronger code of conduct face steep political and constitutional hurdles. The court has no binding code of ethical conduct like the one that governs lower-court judges, and the justices have shown no interest in adopting one. Even if the court were to adopt an ethics code, it is unclear how it would be enforced.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin is demanding Chief Justice John Roberts to police the actions of Clarence Thomas after a new report showed a GOP megadonor paying school tuition for a close relative of the conservative justice. Durbin is pushing for a new ethics bill to impose a code of conduct on the justices, but can't move forward until Sen. Dianne Feinstein returns from her illness since Republicans would have the votes to block any such legislation in his committee. Some Democrats on the panel, like Sen. Dick Blumenthal, want to go much further than Durbin in the Thomas probe. Republicans are defending Thomas and calling it a "smear attempt" by Democrats.
Retired conservative judge J. Michael Luttig has called for new ethics rules for Supreme Court justices, joining a chorus of legal experts from across the political spectrum. The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on Supreme Court ethics, and lawmakers are expected to hear from five experts. Calls for the Supreme Court justices to be subject to an ethics code have grown in recent weeks after revelations about justices’ gifts, luxury travel, and property deals highlighted how few reporting requirements are in place and how the justices are often left to police themselves.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have written a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts asking him to clarify the ethics principles guiding the Supreme Court. The senators listed several questions they want Roberts to answer by Monday, including when justices subscribed to the Statement on Ethics Principles and Practice and if they previously followed a different version. The exchange comes after recent reports about Justice Clarence Thomas not disclosing gifts and trips from a wealthy GOP donor and the sale of properties from Thomas’ family to the same donor.
Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, expects Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would likely refuse to testify in front of the committee about gifts he accepted but did not disclose from a Texas billionaire. Durbin has asked Chief Justice John Roberts to appear before the committee next month to discuss judicial ethics rules in the wake of a ProPublica report that found Thomas had gone on several luxury trips Crow had subsidized. Thomas defended his decision to accept the trips he and his wife received from Harlan Crow without disclosing them to the court.
Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury trips from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow for more than 20 years, according to a report by ProPublica. The report has reignited calls from Democrats for Congress to require the Supreme Court to adopt binding ethics rules. The lack of ethics rules for Supreme Court justices has been a topic of discussion for some time, and the report has prompted further criticism of Thomas. Democrats are pushing for legislative action on judicial ethics reform, including the creation of a code of conduct for Supreme Court justices.
Lawmakers are calling for tighter ethics rules for the Supreme Court after an investigation by ProPublica revealed that Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury trips almost every year for 20 years from a conservative donor and real estate billionaire, Harlan Crow, without disclosing them. The disclosure has renewed scrutiny on Justice Thomas, who has long faced questions over conflicts of interest in part because of the political activities of his wife, Virginia Thomas. Activists pushing for reforms to the Supreme Court demanded more structural changes to the court.
Allies of former President Donald Trump have filed a complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis of violating campaign finance and ethics rules with a “shadow” run for the White House. The complaint asks the commission to investigate Florida’s Republican leader for allegedly “leveraging his elected office and breaching his associated duties in a coordinated effort to develop his national profile, enrich himself and his political allies, and influence the national electorate.” DeSantis communications director dismissed the accusations and questioned the motives of the complaint. The letter comes as Trump has stepped up his criticism of DeSantis, whom the ex-president’s campaign sees as his most serious rival for the 2024 GOP nomination.