In a Tuesday letter to Clarence Thomas’s friend, Harlan Crow, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee demanded the real estate developer provide an itemized list of all gifts, payments, and items of value exceeding $415 given to a Supreme Court justice or a member of his or her family.
The move comes as Democrats double down on their push to force the nation’s high court to adopt an ethics code, even contemplating making approval of the Court’s budget, which provides for the security of the justices, conditional upon such a code being adopted.
The letter, signed by chairman Dick Durbin (D., Ill.) as well as the other Democrats on the committee, also demands Crow submit an itemized list of all real estate transactions with the justices or a member of their families and all transportation or lodging provided to them. The senators even demanded a list of all occasions when entrance to any private, members-only club was provided by Crow to the justices or any member of their families.
The requests follow a ProPublica series that described in detail Thomas’s personal and financial relationship with Crow. The most recent installment suggested impropriety on account of the fact Crow had paid for the tuition of Thomas’s grandnephew.
Mark Paoletta, an attorney and personal friend of Thomas, called the story a disappointing attempt to manufacture a scandal about the justice.
“Let’s be clear about what is supposedly scandalous now: Justice Thomas and his wife devoted twelve years of their lives to taking in and caring for a beloved child—who was not their own—just as Justice Thomas’s grandparents had done for him. They made many personal and financial sacrifices to do this. And along the way, their friends joined them in doing everything possible to give this child a future,” wrote Paoletta in a statement.
Republicans have decried the new ethics push as a veiled attempt to delegitimize the court. In a letter to Senate Finance chairman Ron Wyden (D., Ore.), a group of Republican senators asserted that Justice Thomas is an honorable man who is now the subject of attacks because he refuses to compromise his principles. They also condemned Wyden’s April letter demanding Crow send a complete account of gifts to Thomas to the Senate Finance Committee.
“We reject this manufactured ‘ethics crisis’ at the Supreme Court as a ploy to further Democrats’ efforts to undermine public confidence and change the makeup of the court,” explained the group, led by Senator Mike Lee (R., Utah). “These attacks on the Supreme Court and the justices must end. They are undermining the rule of law, endangering the security of the justices and their families, and inflicting incalculable damage on our country.”
Crow’s attorney, Michael Bopp, has already rebuffed Wyden’s request, arguing in a letter that while the committee can oversee and propose amendments to federal-gift-tax laws, it lacks the jurisdiction and authority to conduct tax audits or pursue judicial ethics inquiries. Bopp also explained that the financial particulars of the Crow-Thomas relationship do not raise gift-tax issues and in any case, the inquiry violates the separation of powers. In response, Wyden accused Crow of stonewalling and said he is considering options at his disposal.
Senator Mike Crapo (R., Idaho), ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, released a statement that he will oppose efforts by Wyden and other Democrats to subpoena Crow.
“I believe in the integrity and honesty of the Court and that of all nine Justices. I will oppose any effort to issue a subpoena in the Finance Committee or to use other tools at the committee’s disposal to further efforts to undermine the independence of the Supreme Court and its individual Justices,” wrote Crapo in a statement.
“Taxpayers have a fundamental right to the certainty that their tax and financial information is protected, remains confidential and will not be used for political purposes,” he added.