Applying the Clarence Thomas Family Standard to the Biden Family

To avoid ethical conflicts, Joe Biden needs to recuse himself from any decision involving China or Ukraine.

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President Joe Biden looks on during a meeting with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., May 12, 2023.

Jonathn Ernst/Reuters

Do we have one set of ethical rules, or two? Let us compare Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and President Joe Biden.

One of the major “ethics” claims made against Thomas is that billionaire Harlan Crow didn’t just take Justice Thomas on joint vacations — he also provided financial favors to Thomas’s family members. These included buying and restoring the home of the justice’s elderly mother (while allowing her to live there) and paying a year’s worth of private-school tuition for Thomas’s grandnephew, whom Thomas had taken custody of and was raising as a son.

Dan McLaughlin

About the Author

Dan McLaughlin

Dan McLaughlin is a senior writer at National Review Online and a fellow at National Review Institute.

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