On Tuesday, All nine U.S. Supreme Court justices co-signed a letter from Chief Justice John Roberts all but extinguishing the Democrats’ vicious attacks against Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative.
Some of the nastiest attacks against Thomas include the accusation that his wife, Ginni, has a close relationship with Texas billionaire Harlan Crow and that Crow has paid for vacations for the couple.
After Democrats heard of these accusations dug up by the leftist research group ProPublica, they all but demanded the removal of the Supreme Court justice, with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) insisting Thomas testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
But Roberts’ letter destroyed that argument, writing, “Testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee by the Chief Justice of the United States is exceedingly rare, as one might expect in light of separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence.”
“The Supreme Court Library compilation of ‘Justices Testifying Before Congress in Matters Other Than Appropriations or Nominations’ has identified only two prior instances — Chief Justice Taft in 1921 and Chief Justice Hughes in 1935. Both hearings involved routine matters of judicial administration relating to additional judgeships in the lower courts and jurisdiction over appeals from lower court injunctions. My predecessor, Chief Justice Rehnquist, appeared before House committees twice, also on mundane topics.”
He further wrote in the letter, “In regard to the Court’s approach to ethics matters, I attach a Statement of Ethics Principles and Practices to which all of the current Members of the Supreme Court subscribe.”
Former chief counsel for nominations under past-Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley and law clerk for Justice Gorsuch, Mike Davis, wrote, “All 9 justices issued an extremely rare—even unanimous—statement. It details how and why the Supreme Court decides recusals on cases and other ethical issues. It is carefully written, well-reasoned, and entirely convincing.”
“It should put to rest all the Democrats’ (fake, political) concerns about Supreme Court ethics,” he continued. “Democrats are now running this political smear campaign because we have the first constitutionalist Supreme Court in 90 years.”