CNN
By John Fritze, CNN
(CNN) — A top Senate Democrat on Saturday accused conservative Supreme Court justices of violating federal disclosure laws in a lengthy report that caps a monthslong investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee and comes weeks before Republicans take control of the chamber.
The report from aides to Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and chairman of the committee, says that the failure by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to disclose lavish trips and other gifts from wealthy businessmen “constitutes a violation of federal law.”
Durbin’s report is arguably the most comprehensive yet detailing luxury travel, private jet flights and property deals arranged for some of the justices, though it mainly calls attention to trips and gifts that have been publicly known for months. The report appears designed to lay out a record of questionable ethics on the court as Democrats prepare to hand over power to the GOP.
“Now more than ever before, as a result of information gathered by subpoenas, we know the extent to which the Supreme Court is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making,” Durbin said in a statement. “It’s clear that the justices are losing the trust of the American people at the hands of a gaggle of fawning billionaires.”
A Supreme Court spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Similar allegations have been raised previously – including by Durbin – and the policymaking arm of the federal judiciary has been looking into claims that Thomas’ actions violated disclosure law for more than a year. Both Thomas and Alito have cited the “personal hospitality” exemption from annual reporting requirements, which they said relieved them of any obligation to report the trips.
The federal judiciary clarified last year that the rules require jurists to disclose non-business stays at resorts and the use of private jets. In response to the outcry over the Thomas trips, the Supreme Court adopted its first-ever code of conduct a year ago, but the document quickly faced criticism because it includes no enforcement mechanism.
Durbin’s report also recounts a scandal this year involving two controversial flags – including an upside-down US flag – hoisted over properties that Alito owns. And it asserted Thomas “violated the law on multiple occasions” by not recusing in cases involving the 2020 presidential election, despite political advocacy by his wife, Ginni Thomas, in support of then-President Donald Trump.
Federal law gives justices wide latitude to make their own recusal decisions. It requires them to bow out when a spouse has an “interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome” of a case.
Republicans, including Trump, have defended Thomas and Alito and have accused Democrats of trying to delegitimize the court’s conservative majority by focusing on ethics.
With Republicans capturing control of the Senate and the White House, ethics proposals that Durbin and other Senate Democrats have supported in recent months are certain to be shelved.
“The Majority Staff Report is not merely the Thomas Report, though he plays the most prominent role,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of the nonprofit advocacy group Fix the Court, in a statement. “It shows how nearly every justice — liberal and conservative, both those who’ve left the Court in the recent past and the nine who serve today — has made lapses in judgment when it comes to their ethical responsibilities.”
This story has been updated with new reporting.
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