Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) have requested Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This request, made in a letter, seeks an immediate investigation into potential violations of ethics, false statements, and tax laws by Justice Thomas and his benefactors who have provided him with undisclosed gifts.
The senators emphasized that they do not make this request lightly, asserting that the evidence gathered so far indicates that Justice Thomas may have committed multiple willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws. They also raised significant questions regarding whether Thomas and his wealthy benefactors have adhered to their federal tax obligations. Whitehouse and Wyden noted that despite opportunities to clarify his conduct, Justice Thomas has remained notably silent on the matter.
In their letter, Whitehouse and Wyden wrote, “No government official should be above the law. Supreme Court justices are properly expected to obey laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety and to comply with the federal tax code. We therefore request that you appoint a Special Counsel authorized to investigate potential criminal violations by Justice Thomas under the disclosure, false statement, and tax laws; pursue leads of related criminal violations by donors, lenders, and intermediate corporate entities; and determine whether any such loans and gifts were provided pursuant to a coordinated enterprise or plan.”
According to watchdog group Fix The Court, Justice Thomas has received over $4 million in gifts during his career, with approximately $2.4 million of that amount received in the last twenty years. This sum far exceeds the gifts received by other judges, with former Justice Antonin Scalia coming in second with $175,861 in gifts over the past two decades. The data also shows Justice Samuel Alito receiving $170,095 in gifts, former Justice John Paul Stevens $79,059, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg $55,014.
