Justice Alito Fails To Disclose Gift From GOP Billionaire

Updated June 22, 2023

• A new report from ProPublica found that — similar to Justice Clarence Thomas — Justice Samuel Alito did not disclose a luxury trip and private jet flight he took with hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer in 2008. ProPublica wrote:

"By failing to disclose the private jet flight Singer provided, Alito appears to have violated a federal law that requires justices to disclose most gifts, according to ethics law experts."

• Alito also did not recuse himself from multiple Supreme Court cases involving the billionaire, where Alito voted in favor of Singer. 
• In response to the report, Alito published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, defending himself and refuting the allegations, saying:

"I had no obligation to recuse in any of the cases that ProPublica cites."

Updated May 5, 2023

• ProPublica reported Thursday that Harlan Crow, the Republican billionaire megadonor, paid for two years of private school tuition for Justice Clarence Thomas' great-nephew Mark Martin, who Thomas raised.
• A lawyer representing Thomas and his wife, Virginia, acknowledged that the justice failed to disclose the payments — the latest example of Crow and Thomas breaking ethics codes and disclosure requirements. 
• According to ProPublica's story, Crow paid tuition for Martin's military boarding school in Virginia, Randolph-Macon Academy, and Hidden Lake Academy in Georgia. When asked to comment, Crow said that Thomas had not requested support for either school. 
• Lawyer Mark Paoletta defended Thomas on Twitter in an extended statement, saying this is "another attempt to manufacture a scandal about Justice Thomas."

What's the story?

• Sens. Angus King (I-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have proposed a bill requiring the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct. 
• The move follows high-profile controversies revealed by the media platform Politico including Justice Clarence Thomas' failure to disclose lavish trips and gifts from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow, and Justice Neil Gorsuch selling vacation property to Brian Duffy, the CEO of law firm Greenberg Traurig.
• Unlike state and federal courts, the Supreme Court does not have a code of conduct. Instead, in 1991, the Supreme Court agreed to abide by the Judicial Conference's "broadly worded" code of conduct.

What's included in the proposed code of conduct?

• The proposed code of conduct would require Supreme Court justices to provide written explanations and guidelines for when a judge should step aside from a case due to a conflict of interest or lack of impartiality. It would also establish a system for handling misconduct complaints and grant the court authority to investigate if justices have engaged in behavior which affects how a case is carried out.
• The bill would mandate the Supreme Court to implement and post the code, titled the Supreme Court Code of Conduct Act, on its website for public access within a year of becoming law.

 State of American trust in the Supreme Court

• Public trust in the Supreme Court has declined in recent years. A Gallup poll revealed that only 25% of U.S. adults have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the Supreme Court.
• The proposed code of conduct is seen as a way to address concerns about the Court's perceived bias and partisanship, and improve public confidence in the court.
• In a statement, Sen. King said: 

"In the Federalist Papers, Alexander Hamilton notes that the Judiciary can only be successful if it has 'the esteem and applause of all the virtuous and disinterested.' With trust in the Supreme Court reaching historic lows, I worry we're getting dangerously far from this fundamental vision."

What do you think? Do you trust the Supreme Court?

-Laura Woods 

(Photo Credit: Supremecourt.gov)