Justices'

[phkrause]

⚖️ SCOTUS ethics questions won't disappear

The Senate Judiciary Committee will move forward with Supreme Court ethics legislation when the Senate returns from July 4 recess, following yet another ProPublica investigation into luxury gifts not disclosed by justices.

• This time, ProPublica's focus was conservative Justice Samuel Alito, who traveled with GOP donor Paul Singer on a private jet in 2008 as part of a luxury fishing trip that Alito did not report on his financial disclosures.
• ProPublica reports that Singer's hedge fund had business before the Supreme Court at least 10 times in the years since, and that Alito did not recuse himself from the cases.

Why it matters: A Quinnipiac poll released today — conducted before the latest revelations — found the Supreme Court has a 30% approval rating among registered voters. That's the lowest figure reported since Quinnipiac first asked the question in 2004.

The other side: A Supreme Court spokesperson declined to comment to ProPublica, but the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed from Alito last night — before the story ran — accusing the outlet of misleading its readers and leveling "false charges" against the justice.

[phkrause]

Alito Could Deliver Another Ruling For Billionaire Benefactor

The hedge fund of Justice Samuel Alito’s billionaire benefactor has been using a recent Alito-backed Supreme Court ruling to try to pressure federal regulators to back off new financial rules designed to fight fraud, according to documents reviewed by The Lever.

https://www.levernews.com/alito-could-deliver-another-ruling-for-billionaire-benefactor/?

Behind the Scenes of Justice Alito’s Unprecedented Wall Street Journal Pre-buttal

The Journal editorial page accused ProPublica of misleading readers in a story that hadn’t yet been published.

https://www.propublica.org/article/behind-scenes-alito-wall-street-journal-prebuttal-editorial?

[phkrause]

Samuel Alito’s Wife Leased Land to an Oil and Gas Firm While the Justice Fought the EPA

A deal made by Alito’s wife with an energy company paints recent Supreme Court decisions on the environment in a damning light.

https://theintercept.com/2023/06/26/samuel-alito-oil-gas-supreme-court-environment/?

[phkrause]

Justices' raw nerves

The end of affirmative action was a lot more personal and emotional — a lot more raw — than Americans are used to seeing from the Supreme Court.

• Why it matters: There have always been impassioned dissents. But it's rare for the justices to argue, out in the open, the way regular people argue, Axios court-watcher Sam Baker writes.

What's happening: The justices might write incandescently about the holes in another justice's legal reasoning, but they rarely make it personal. They rarely invoke anecdotes from their own lives to make or bolster a point. They rarely draw assumptions about each other's motives.

• But in 237 pages worth of opinions yesterday, it was clear — in ways the justices rarely allow to be clear — that the disagreements here were rooted in the real world, not simply competing interpretations of the equal protection clause.

It was clear that the court's three justices of color were drawing on personal experience, not just legal formalism.

• And it was clear, frankly, that some of them were mad at each other.

? Zoom in: Justice Clarence Thomas seemed to be mad at Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who wrote a stinging dissent accusing the court's majority of "let-them-eat-cake obliviousness" — and an "ostrich-like" hope that ignoring race would make racial inequities disappear.

• Thomas wrote his own opinion, as he often does — ostensibly to agree with the majority ruling, but also to take on Jackson.
• "As she sees things, we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society," Thomas wrote. He said Jackson set out to "label all blacks as victims," adding: "Her desire to do so is unfathomable to me."

Jackson's dissent focused on the majority opinion, addressing Thomas only in a footnote — but a brutal one.

• "Justice Thomas' prolonged attack responds to a dissent I did not write in order to assail an admissions program" that does not exist and "ignites too many more straw men to list, or fully extinguish," she wrote.

? A final zinger: Justice Sonia Sotomayor responded with what she called "the most obvious data point available to this institution today."

• "The three Justices of color on this Court graduated from elite universities and law schools with race-conscious admissions programs, and achieved successful legal careers," she wrote.

Share this story ... Go deeper: Inside the chamber.

[phkrause]

Supreme Court justices and donors mingle at campus visits. These documents show the ethical dilemmas

WASHINGTON (AP) — When Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas headlined a 2017 program at McLennan Community College in Texas, his hosts had more than a speech in mind. Working with the prominent conservative lawyer Ken Starr, school officials crafted a guest list for a dinner at the home of a wealthy Texas businessman, hoping an audience with Thomas would be a reward for school patrons -– and an inducement to prospective donors.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-donors-politics-4b6dc4ae23aac75d4fccb1bcff0b7e0b?

[phkrause]

Senators Ask Billionaire Paul Singer and Power Broker Leonard Leo for Full Accounting of Gifts to Supreme Court Justices

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have sent letters to two wealthy businessmen and a major political activist requesting more information about undisclosed gifts to Supreme Court justices.

https://www.propublica.org/article/senators-ask-paul-singer-leonard-leo-accounting-gifts-supreme-court?

[phkrause]

How Harlan Crow Slashed his Tax Bill by Taking Clarence Thomas on Superyacht Cruises

For months, Harlan Crow and members of Congress have been engaged in a fight over whether the billionaire needs to divulge details about his gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, including globe-trotting trips aboard his 162-foot yacht, the Michaela Rose.

https://www.propublica.org/article/harlan-crow-slashed-tax-bill-clarence-thomas-superyacht?

[phkrause]

?️ Justice Elena Kagan voiced her support for a new ethics code for the Supreme Court, taking a sharply different stance than Justice Samuel Alito. Keep reading.

[phkrause]

Alito Previously Told Lawmakers He Would Obey Ethics Laws

To get confirmed, the justice pledged to follow an anti-corruption law that he later ignored — now he says Congress can't regulate the Supreme Court.

https://www.levernews.com/alito-previously-told-lawmakers-he-would-obey-ethics-laws/?

[phkrause]

Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel

During his three decades on the Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas has enjoyed steady access to a lifestyle most Americans can only imagine. A cadre of industry titans and ultrawealthy executives have treated him to far-flung vacations aboard their yachts, ushered him into the premium suites at sporting events and sent their private jets to fetch him — including, on more than one occasion, an entire 737. It’s a stream of luxury that is both more extensive and from a wider circle than has been previously understood.

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-other-billionaires-sokol-huizenga-novelly-supreme-court#:~:text=At+least+38+destination+vacations,resorts+in+Florida+and+Jamaica;?

[Hanseng]

On 5/1/2023 at 6:14 AM, phkrause said:

no evidence

Only know what I saw in media reports about this case. Again and again, I heard that the accusation was from a "credible" accuser. She wasn't "credible" according to any standard of credibility I'm aware of. "In the mouth of 2 or 3 witnesses let every word be established." The one person who she called as a witness would not/could not corroborate her accusation. That alone destroys her credibility. Couldn't recall the location of the party where the assault took place? Strange, I can recall nearly every party I went to going back to grammar school, some of the people there, and approximately, if not exactly, where it was located. It's very possible that what she claimed did happen; nevertheless, she was not a credible witness. 

[phkrause]

6 hours ago, Hanseng said:

She wasn't "credible" according to any standard of credibility I'm aware of.

He hasn't denied any of the claims as of yet! He's only said he didn't have to report any of this!!

[Hanseng]

7 hours ago, phkrause said:

He hasn't denied any of the claims as of yet!

My response was addressed to a post about Justice Kavanaugh, not Justice Thomas.

 

[Hanseng]

On 4/13/2023 at 8:49 AM, phkrause said:

Conservative donor’s Nazi memorabilia in spotlight amid revelations about his Clarence Thomas ties

Sounds like a pretty weak collection, i.e., a few towels, a book, and two paintings. I have a copy of the Communist Manifesto and a picture of Mao. Also a copy of Red Star Over China, Edgar Snow's Chinese communist apologetic.

Those things don't make me a communist or an atheist. 

[phkrause]

23 hours ago, Hanseng said:

My response was addressed to a post about Justice Kavanaugh, not Justice Thomas.

Sorry I didn't get that!!

[phkrause]

Justice Clarence Thomas reports he took 3 trips on Republican donor’s plane last year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged Thursday that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow even as he rejected criticism over his failure to report trips in previous years.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-ethics-finances-justices-thomas-alito-08ec6e88a7c29c55c9d3991903ca0db7?

[phkrause]

Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events

On Jan. 25, 2018, dozens of private jets descended on Palm Springs International Airport. Some of the richest people in the country were arriving for the annual winter donor summit of the Koch network, the political organization founded by libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch. A long weekend of strategizing, relaxation in the California sun and high-dollar fundraising lay ahead.

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-secretly-attended-koch-brothers-donor-events-scotus?

[phkrause]

Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire

In late June 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia. He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow?

[phkrause]

Justices Have Financial Interest In Major Tax Case

John Roberts and Samuel Alito own shares of companies that could score billions in tax relief from the outcome of Moore v. United States.

https://www.levernews.com/justices-have-financial-interest-in-major-tax-case/?

[phkrause]

Most of Justice Thomas’ $267,000 loan for an RV seems to have been forgiven, Senate Democrats say

WASHINGTON (AP) — All or most of a $267,000 loan obtained by Supreme CourtJustice Clarence Thomas to buy a high-end motorcoach appears to have been forgiven, raising tax and ethics questions, according to a new report by Senate Democrats.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-clarence-thomas-motorcoach-loan-ethics-afed2073e0d7cf4a994256ce35d5063f?

[phkrause]

Sandra Day O’Connor called a pioneer and ‘iconic jurist’ as she is memorialized by Biden, Roberts

WASHINGTON (AP) — Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the Arizona rancher’s daughter who became a voice of moderate conservatism as the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, was memorialized by President Joe Biden on Tuesday as a pioneer in the legal world who inspired generations of women.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-first-woman-sandra-day-oconnor-9113c9072894cdcbb4689d7ff56e98f2?

[phkrause]

Billionaire Gifts To Thomas: Generosity Or Taxable Income?

If billionaires’ largesse was designed to keep the justice on the high court, experts say the money could be considered a taxable payment.

https://www.levernews.com/billionaire-gifts-to-thomas-generosity-or-taxable-income/?

[phkrause]

Second flag carried by Jan. 6 rioters displayed outside house owned by Justice Alito, report says

WASHINGTON (AP) — A second flag of a type carried by rioters during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was displayed outside a house owned by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-flag-stop-steal-alito-trump-1842c40b833637c981c59c3f39bc4669?

[phkrause]

?️ Another Alito controversy

Flag flies at Justice Samuel Alito's vacation home in New Jersey in August 2023. Screenshot: Google Street View An "Appeal to Heaven" flag — a symbol that was flown during the Capitol riot, and has become associated with Christian nationalists — flew outside Justice Samuel Alito's vacation home in Long Beach Island, N.J., last year, according to photographs obtained by The New York Times. Why it matters: It's the second symbol displayed outside an Alito home that has a prominent connection to the Jan. 6 riot, Axios' Erin Doherty and Justin Green write. An upside-down American flag, a symbol of the "Stop the Steal" movement, was hung outside Alito's Virginia home days after the Jan. 6 attack, the Times reported earlier this month. An "Appeal to Heaven" flag can be seen (top right) outside the Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021. Photo: Brent Stirton/Getty Images State of play: The "Appeal to Heaven" flag was reportedly displayed at Alito's New Jersey vacation home in July and September of 2023, according to photos obtained by The Times. It's not clear whether the flag hung for consecutive days. Read the NYT story (gift link — no paywall).

[phkrause]

Post passed on Alito scoop

Inverted U.S. flag at the Alito home in Fairfax County, Va., in 2021, and the "Appeal to Heaven" flag outside their New Jersey vacation home last summer. Photos: Obtained by The New York Times

The most interesting story in yesterday's Washington Post was on Page A3 — and 1,221 days late. It turns out The Post's former Supreme Court reporter, Bob Barnes, did a front-yard interview with Justice Samuel Alito on Jan. 20, 2021 — President Biden's inauguration day — about the upside-down American flag that had flown outside the justice's home in Fairfax County, Va. The Post decided it wasn't a story, until The New York Times broke the news on May 16 — 3 years, 4 months later. Why it matters: The flag — which Alito attributed to his wife, Martha-Ann Alito — raised ethics questions that were heightened after The Times reported last week on a second provocative flag flown at an Alito property. ? What they're saying: Cameron Barr, the Post's former senior managing editor, told Semafor's Ben Smith that he takes responsibility for the decision. "I agreed with Bob Barnes and others that we should not do a single-slice story about the flag, because it seemed like the story was about Martha-Ann Alito and not her husband," Barr said. "In retrospect, I should have pushed harder for that story." Yesterday's Washington Post ? Now it can be told: The Post's weekend story revealed the epic scene back in 2021. Barnes — who covered the court for 17 years, and retired in 2023 — went to the Alitos' home to check a tip, and "encountered the couple coming out of the house": "Martha-Ann Alito was visibly upset by his presence, demanding that he 'get off my property.' As [Barnes] described the information he was seeking, she yelled, 'It's an international signal of distress!' "Alito intervened and directed his wife into a car parked in their driveway, where they had been headed on their way out of the neighborhood. The justice denied the flag was hung upside down as a political protest, saying it stemmed from a neighborhood dispute and indicating that his wife had raised it." "Martha-Ann Alito then got out of the car," The Post continues, "and shouted in apparent reference to the neighbors: 'Ask them what they did!'" "She said yard signs about the couple had been placed in the neighborhood. After getting back in the car, she exited again and then brought out from their residence a novelty flag, the type that would typically decorate a garden. She hoisted it up the flagpole. 'There! Is that better?' she yelled." Asked for comment by Axios, The Post noted that the weekend story addresses why the account wasn't published at the time: "The Post decided not to report on the episode at the time because the flag-raising appeared to be the work of Martha-Ann Alito, rather than the justice, and connected to a dispute with her neighbors, a Post spokeswoman said. It was not clear then that the argument was rooted in politics, the spokeswoman said." Read the Post story (gift link — no paywall).