The federal courts have announced that they will not be referring complaints against Justice Clarence Thomas to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for investigation. This decision comes from the Judicial Conference of the United States, following a request by Democratic lawmakers who accused Thomas of ethics violations related to undisclosed luxury travel and gifts.
The Senate and House Democrats, led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Hank Johnson, had previously asked the Judicial Conference to refer their concerns to the attorney general. Their concerns were based on reports by ProPublica that alleged Thomas did not disclose several transactions, including the sale of property to billionaire Harlan Crow and other significant gifts such as luxury travel and school tuition for a family member.
In response, Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Conrad, Jr., writing on behalf of the Judicial Conference, stated in letters to both lawmakers that Thomas had already filed amended financial disclosures to address these issues. Conrad noted that the Judicial Conference traditionally does not retroactively apply new guidelines to past financial disclosures. He emphasized that these guidelines also did not apply to travel before 2022 due to ambiguities in previous instructions.
Despite these responses, the Judicial Conference has been criticized for its stance. Gabe Roth, from the judicial watchdog group Fix the Court, argued that the conclusions reached by the Judicial Conference seemed to contradict the explicit requirements of the financial disclosure law. Roth stated that the law clearly requires certain types of gifts to be reported, including those Thomas omitted like the RV and private school tuition.
Conrad also mentioned that the Judicial Conference would be examining its authority to refer cases involving Supreme Court Justices to the DOJ, as Congress has not clearly defined this power. Despite some dissatisfaction over this decision, it currently stands, indicating that no DOJ investigation will be pursued. The original article has more details and can be accessed here.