Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin vowed to get information from GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow over his gifts and relationship with Justice Clarence Thomas after a law firm representing Mr. Crow rejected the committee’s inquiries about his businesses.
The Illinois Democrat released a statement Tuesday that Mr. Crow rejected the committee’s request that he answer questions about his gifts to Justice Thomas — as well as about companies holding his private jet, yacht and property, Topridge Camp in upstate New York. Mr. Crow’s law firm said the committee lacked authority to implement ethics on the high court and the matter ran afoul of the separation of powers.
“We do not believe the committee has the authority to investigate Mr. Crow’s personal friendship with Justice Clarence Thomas,” the lawyers wrote.
In his own statement, Mr. Durbin said, “Harlan Crow believes the secrecy of his lavish gifts to Justice Thomas is more important than the reputation of the highest court of law in this land. He is wrong.
“The committee will respond more fully to this letter in short order and will continue to seek a substantive response to our information requests in order to craft and advance the targeted ethics legislation needed to help restore trust in the Supreme Court. As I’ve said many times before: The chief justice has the power to establish a credible, enforceable code of conduct for the court today. However, if the court will not act, this committee will.”
Earlier this month, the committee’s Democrats asked Mr. Crow to turn over information about the gifts and financial benefits he provided Justice Thomas so they could learn more about their relationship.
They say it will help them craft legislation imposing a code of ethics on the high court.
They also asked for a list of any financial gifts or benefits that were given to a justice that exceeds $415.
The request came after a series of news articles about Justice Thomas and his friendship with Mr. Crow, a billionaire real estate developer.
ProPublica reported that Mr. Crow paid private school tuition at Hidden Lake Academy and Randolph-Macon Academy for Justice Thomas’ great-nephew, whom the justice took in to raise at the age of 6.
The tuition total could have cost more than $150,000, according to ProPublica. Justice Thomas did not disclose the payments in his financial disclosure forms, and the news outlet suggested that runs afoul of ethical standards required of a federal judge.
Scrutiny of the justice has renewed over the past couple of months. ProPublica reported in April that Justice Thomas did not disclose that he took multiple luxury vacations with Mr. Crow or that Mr. Crow purchased the home of Justice Thomas’ mother even though she continued to reside there.
The Washington Post followed with an April 16 article examining what appeared to be a typo on the justice’s financial disclosure related to family real estate holdings in which he reported rental income to Ginger Ltd. Partnership instead of Ginger Holdings LLC.
The New York Times followed with a piece critical of Justice Thomas and other Republican appointees collecting generous salaries to teach courses at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Justice Thomas has defended his friendship with Mr. Crow and said he consulted with colleagues about disclosure requirements and didn’t skirt any rules.
In an interview published Monday by the Atlantic, Mr. Crow denied talking to Justice Thomas about the high court or matters pending before it. He also said the purchase of Justice Thomas’ mother’s home was a fair market transaction.
“I don’t see the foot fault,” he said.
Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats have held at least two hearings on ethics concerns for the justices. They invited Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to testify, but he declined.
The high court doesn’t have a mandatory code of ethics, even though lower court judges are expected to avoid impropriety or do business with anyone who may come before the bench.
Justice Roberts has said the high court has generally followed the Judicial Conferences’ Code of Ethics that are binding on lower courts — but not the Supreme Court — since 1991.
He said all justices must file disclosures that are reviewed by the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure and follow what lower courts do with recusals. But he noted that the system is flexible, given the composition of the high court.
He also said that amid increased threats, the justices sometimes don’t disclose their travel arrangements for security reasons.
The 10 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to Mr. Durbin last week, saying he’s weaponizing the committee for partisan reasons aimed at the high court. They urged him to stop the inquiry into Mr. Crow and spend time on other efforts like the fentanyl epidemic.
“Your requests appear misaligned and political. Further, they only target conservative members of the Supreme Court,” their letter to Mr. Durbin read.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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