|
WASHINGTON -- Democratic lawmakers on Thursday
called for a federal investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas'
failure to report hundreds of thousands of dollars on annual financial
disclosure forms.
Led by House Rules Committee ranking member
Rep. Louise
Slaughter (D-N.Y.), 20 House Democrats sent a letter to the Judicial
Conference of the United States -- the entity that frames guidelines for the
administration of federal courts -- requesting that the conference refer the
matter of Thomas' non-compliance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to
the Department of Justice.
The letter outlines how, throughout his 20-year
tenure on the Supreme Court, Thomas routinely checked a box titled
"none" on his annual financial disclosure forms, indicating that his
wife had received no income. But in reality, the letter states, she earned
nearly $700,000 from the Heritage Foundation from 2003 to 2007 alone.
Slaughter called it "absurd" to suggest
that Thomas
may not have known how to fill out the forms.
"It is reasonable, in every sense of the word, to believe that a member of
the highest court in the land should know how to properly disclose almost
$700,000 worth of income," Slaughter said in a statement. "To not be
able to do so is suspicious, and according to law, requires further
investigation. To accept Justice Thomas’s explanation without doing the
required due diligence would be irresponsible."
The letter also cites a June report in The New York Times indicating
Thomas may have regularly benefited from the use of a private yacht and
airplane owned by real estate magnate Harlan Crow and failed to disclose the
travel as a gift or travel reimbursement.
Current law requires the Judicial Conference to
refer to the Attorney General any judge the conference "has reasonable
cause to believe has willfully failed to file a report or has willfully
falsified or willfully failed to file information required to be
reported."
Slaughter's press statement also notes
that the Heritage
Foundation was a prominent opponent of the Affordable Care Act, an issue the
Supreme Court is expected to rule on by next summer.
"The Attorney General would be the
appropriate person to investigate the issue of non-disclosure, and that is why
my colleagues and I are making this request today," Slaughter said.
"I cannot determine guilt or innocence, but I can request that the
government do our due diligence in investigating a situation that strikes me,
and many other members of Congress, as suspicious." Nineteen members of Congress signed her
letter.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
Slaughter,
19 Colleagues, Call for Investigation into Justice Thomas's Non-Disclosure
Under
Law, Judicial Conference Must Refer Issue to US Attorney General
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Louise
Slaughter, Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee, together with 19
Members of Congress, today sent a letter to the Judicial Conference,
requesting that the Conference follow the law and refer the matter of Justice
Clarence Thomas's non-compliance with the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to
the Department of Justice. Throughout his entire tenure on the Supreme Court,
Justice Thomas has checked a box titled "none" on his annual
financial disclosure forms, indicating that his wife had received no income,
despite the fact that his wife had in fact earned nearly $700,000 from the
Heritage Foundation from 2003-2007 alone.
Slaughter said, "To believe that
Justice Thomas didn't know how to fill out a basic disclosure form is absurd.
It is reasonable, in every sense of the word, to believe that a member of the
highest court in the land should know how to properly disclose almost
$700,000 worth of income. To not be able to do so is suspicious, and
according to law, requires further investigation. To accept Justice Thomas's
explanation without doing the required due diligence would be
irresponsible."
Section 104(b) of the Ethics in
Government Act requires the Judicial Conference to refer to the Attorney
General of the United States any judge who the Conference "has
reasonable cause to believe has willfully failed to file a report or has
willfully falsified or willfully failed to file information required to be
reported."
If the Judicial Conference finds
reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas has "willfully falsified
or willfully failed to file information to be reported," it must,
pursuant to §104, refer the case to the Attorney General for further
determination of possible criminal or civil legal sanctions.
Throughout his entire tenure on the
Supreme Court, Justice Thomas checked a box titled "none" on his
annual financial disclosure forms, indicating that his wife had received no
income, despite the fact that his wife had in fact earned nearly $700,000
from the Heritage Foundation from 2003-2007 alone. The Heritage Foundation
was a prominent opponent of the Affordable Care Act, an issue that is
expected to be considered by the Supreme Court in the near future.
Slaughter said, "The Attorney
General would be the appropriate person to investigate the issue of
non-disclosure, and that is why my colleagues and I are making this request
today. I cannot determine guilt or innocence, but I can request that the
government do our due diligence in investigating a situation that strikes me,
and many other Members of Congress, as suspicious."
|
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
|
New Details Emerge; Also Delivers
Petition From 130,000 Americans to US Judicial Conference
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Louise
Slaughter (NY-28) Ranking Member of the House Rules Committee today sent a
follow-up letter to the US Judicial Conference requesting that the matter of
Justice Clarence Thomas's failure to disclose required financial information
be referred to the US Attorney General.
The letter, signed by 52 Members of
Congress, was drafted after new details emerged showing Justice Thomas
correctly disclosed his wife's income for at least 7 years before failing to
disclose the same information between 1997-2007. Other records, filed by Mrs.
Thomas' employers, indicate she was paid at least $1.6 million (previously
known to be approximately $700,000) during the years her husband reported she
had no income. Willful failure to disclose required information would be a
violation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.
Said Slaughter, "The new details
that have emerged show that Justice Thomas had a firm understanding of the
steps necessary to properly disclose all information required by federal law.
Knowing this, his failure to properly disclose financial information between
1997 and 2007 is even more curious. It is high time that the appropriate
authorities fully investigate this issue to determine if his failure to
disclose this information was willful."
In addition, Rep. Slaughter delivered a
petition that had been circulated by CREDO Action, calling for similar
action. The petition was signed by 131,386 Americans, and called on the
Judicial Conference to refer the issue of Justice Thomas's non-disclosure to
the US Attorney General for further action.
Of the petition, Slaughter said
"CREDO Action members have played a huge role in our efforts to hold
Justice Thomas accountable. This petition is proof that the American people
care deeply about the integrity of their courts. Regardless of one's title,
no one should be above the law."
Between 1997 and 2007 Justice Thomas
checked the box "none" for spousal income on his annual financial
disclosure forms, despite the fact that Virginia Thomas earned income from
several organizations during this time period, including the Heritage
Foundation. When the inaccurate disclosures were made public, the Justice
amended his forms and stated that he had misunderstood the reporting
requirement.
Newly found copies of old disclosure
forms indicate that Justice Thomas had properly completed his disclosure
forms for at least 7 years before he began checking "NONE" on the
section seeking details about his wife's employment. Those copies also
indicate that Justice Thomas failed to make proper disclosures for a total of
13 years (previously known to be at least 5). Other records, filed by Mrs.
Thomas' employers, indicate she was paid at least $1.6 million (previously
known to be approximately $700,000) during the years her husband reported she
had no income.
The Ethics in Government Act of 1978
requires the Judicial Conference, an administrative agency for the federal
courts, to refer to the Attorney General any judge or justice whom it has
"reasonable cause" to believe willfully failed to make required
disclosures.
Slaughter has previously worked to bring
clarity to the questions surrounding Justice Thomas's failure to properly
disclose financial information.
On September 29th, Slaughter led a letter
of 20 Members of Congress asking the Judicial Conference to take action
regarding Justice Thomas's apparent violations of the Ethics in Government
Act. On October 14th the Judicial Conference replied to report that this
letter was referred to Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure.
With today's letter, Slaughter continues
her efforts to seek appropriate answers to the outstanding questions
regarding Justice Thomas's financial disclosure.
View the petition from CREDO
Action here.
|
|
