Republicans are rallying to defend Justice Clarence Thomas against a barrage of ethics allegations, saying they are poorly veiled attempts to delegitimize the Supreme Court and silence a prominent Black conservative.
Although ethics questions rankle several members of the high court, including Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Justice Thomas faces the most strident calls for ouster.
Sen. Ted Cruz said that’s because Justice Thomas, the court’s longest-serving member, is Black.
“There have been other conservative justices over the years. But the left has a special loathing for Justice Thomas because he is African American,” Mr. Cruz said this week on his “Verdict” podcast. “It is a loathing that is qualitatively different. Their view, the view of the hard left, is that a black man cannot dare to be a conservative, that if you’re Black, or for that matter if you are Hispanic, you must be a left-wing ideologue. And if you’re not, they have a unique level of rage.”
The Texas Republican said the criticism aims “to try to wear Justice Thomas down.”
“And the objective of the left, I believe, is they hope to drive him away from the court,” Mr. Cruz added.
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The jabs at Justice Thomas intensified after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol and revelations that his wife, Virginia Thomas, supported then-President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud.
Voices on the left have said Justice Thomas should recuse himself from election-related cases, including a pending case that involves whether state courts or legislatures have the final say in election decisions.
Scrutiny of the justice has renewed over the past month. ProPublica reported in April that Justice Thomas did not disclose that he had taken multiple luxury vacations with billionaire Harlan Crow or that Mr. Crow had purchased his mother’s home 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 flout any rules.
Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project and a former clerk to Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, said the critical focus on Justice Thomas began with his confirmation hearing in 1991 when he was hit with Anita Hill’s sexual harassment allegations. The justice’s critics sense a particularly good reason to try to oust him right now.
“The Democrats think they have a window of opportunity here with a Democrat White House and a Democrat Senate to chase Clarence Thomas off the Supreme Court by running an organized political campaign by Democrat politicians and their lapdogs in the media,” Mr. Davis said.
“It will only embolden Clarence Thomas,” he said.
Senate Democrats convened a hearing this week to examine judicial ethics and press for the Supreme Court to adopt a strict code of ethics.
They brushed aside the notion that their goal was to pressure Justice Thomas.
“I haven’t heard that from anybody,” said Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Richard J. Durbin, Illinois Democrat.
“The Supreme Court should have a code of ethics just like every other branch of government,” said Sen. Mazie K. Hirono, Hawaii Democrat.
Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, said all justices have come under scrutiny for various reasons related to disclosures or recusals but Justice Thomas’ accepted gifts have been more plentiful.
“In terms of the quantity of trips and the costs of the trips and the gifts, yes, it pales in comparison to the other justices,” he said. “It seems like a pattern of omission from Justice Thomas.”
Mr. Cruz said during the committee hearing that Justice Thomas had accepted less sponsored travel than some other justices.
“In 2019, Justice [Stephen G.] Breyer traveled to New York City to Vancouver to Paris. In 2018, Justice Breyer traveled to Ireland and Spain. In 2016, he traveled to New York, Spain and France. In 2013, he traveled to New York, Sweden, Denmark. In 2012, he traveled to Beijing and to London — all of this paid for by the Pritzker Foundation,” Mr. Cruz said.
Since 2011, former Justice Breyer has served as a judge on the panel that awards the Pritzker Prize, the most coveted award in architecture, and disclosed his foundation-sponsored trips.
The Supreme Court doesn’t have a mandatory code of ethics, though Chief Justice Roberts says members generally follow the Judicial Conferences’ Code of Judicial Conduct, which is binding on lower courts.
All justices must file disclosure forms for review by the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure and are urged to recuse themselves from certain cases. There is no higher authority to police the matter.
Regarding travel, the chief justice said some trips aren’t disclosed because of security concerns.
Conservative members of the court have faced increased threats over the past year. Nicholas John Roske is awaiting trial on charges of attempting to assassinate Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh.
Justice Thomas came under renewed scrutiny when he emerged as the ideological leader of the court’s six Republican-appointed members. His originalist approach to cases involving the Constitution helped lead the court to overturn Roe v. Wade and bolster gun rights under the Second Amendment.
The court has a pair of high-profile affirmative action rulings due out any time now, delivering another platform for Justice Thomas, who has been deeply critical of affirmative action in a previous opinion.
“He stands for the unflinching commitment to originalism,” said Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network and a former clerk to Justice Thomas. “Justice Thomas is the last person to withdraw in the face of fire.”
Republicans also see opportunity in the attacks on Justice Thomas. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas fired off a fundraising email to supporters last month asking for donations and signatures for a petition to thank Justice Thomas.
“Justice Thomas is being targeted by the mob because he doesn’t rule the way they want,” the senator’s campaign read. “We all know the truth: if Justice Thomas were conservative, he’d be getting praised as a hero by these same radicals.”
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this story.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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