{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/whitehouse-johnson-urge-judicial-conference-consider-breadth-secret", "Whitehouse, Johnson Urge Judicial Conference to Consider Breadth of Secret Billionaire-Funded Gifts to Justice Thomas as Support for Referral to Attorney General", "2023-08-15", "2023", "2023-08", "Democrat", "House", "GA", "Henry C. \"Hank\" Johnson, Jr.", "J000288", "hankjohnson.house.gov", "hankjohnson", "https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases", "scraper", "Letter follows months of reporting detailing the infiltration of Supreme Court by right-wing billionaires and their operatives.\n\nMembers renew request to investigate Justice Thomas\u2019s potential violations of the Ethics in Government Act\n\nWASHINGTON, D.C. \u2014 Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA) today released a letter alerting the Judicial Conference to the latest bombshell reporting published by ProPublica, which brought to light previously undisclosed billionaire-funded gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Whitehouse and Johnson\u2019s letter asks the Judicial Conference to take these latest revelations into account as the Conference considers referring Justice Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General for potential violations of the Ethics in Government Act under 5 U.S.C. \u00a7 13106.\n\n\u201cRecent ProPublica reporting revealed that Justice Thomas has failed to disclose years\u2019 worth of lavish gifts from billionaire benefactors, including free travel on private jets, helicopters, and yachts; lodging at commercial properties; and \u2018VIP passes to professional and college sporting events.\u2019 As with other gifts to Justice Thomas unearthed over the past several months, there appears to be no justification for Justice Thomas\u2019s omission of many of these gifts from his annual financial disclosure reports required by the Ethics in Government Act,\u201d wrote Whitehouse and Johnson.\n\n\u201cCoupled with the reports of multiple undisclosed gifts from Harlan Crow to which we previously alerted the Committee, these new revelations reveal an unmistakable pattern of noncompliance by Justice Thomas that supports a finding of reasonable cause to believe that these omissions were willful. As the Committee considers our request to refer Justice Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General pursuant to 5 U.S.C. \u00a7 13106(b), it must consider the full scope of Justice Thomas\u2019s omissions, including these new revelations,\u201d added the members.\n\nJohnson first asked the Judicial Conference to refer Justice Thomas to the Attorney General for investigation in April after reporting from ProPublica exposed Justice Thomas\u2019s propensity for accepting undisclosed gifts from the politically active right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow. On April 17, Johnson also called for hearings and a floor vote on his and Whitehouse\u2019s Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act, and on August 11 led a letter urging the Department of Justice to launch an investigation of Thomas.\n\nLast month, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed Whitehouse and Johnson\u2019s Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act, legislation that would help restore the American public\u2019s sinking trust in the Supreme Court by fortifying regulations regarding judicial conflicts of interest and recusal. The bill was endorsed by The New York Times editorial board.\n\nThe text of the letter is below, and a PDF of the letter is available here.\n\nAugust 11, 2023\n\nThe Honorable Roslynn R. Mauksopf\n\nDirector, Administrative Office of the United States Courts\n\nSecretary, Judicial Conference of the United States\n\nOne Columbus Circle, NE\n\nWashington, D.C. 20544\n\nDear Judge Mauskopf:\n\nWe write to bring to the attention of the Committee on Financial Disclosure new accounts of Justice Clarence Thomas\u2019s failure to disclose gifts required to be reported under federal law. Recent ProPublica reporting revealed that Justice Thomas has failed to disclose years\u2019 worth of lavish gifts from billionaire benefactors, including free travel on private jets, helicopters, and yachts; lodging at commercial properties; and \u201cVIP passes to professional and college sporting events.\u201d As with other gifts to Justice Thomas unearthed over the past several months, there appears to be no justification for Justice Thomas\u2019s omission of many of these gifts from his annual financial disclosure reports required by the Ethics in Government Act.\n\nCoupled with the reports of multiple undisclosed gifts from Harlan Crow to which we previously alerted the Committee, these new revelations reveal an unmistakable pattern of noncompliance by Justice Thomas that supports a finding of reasonable cause to believe that these omissions were willful. As the Committee considers our request to refer Justice Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General pursuant to 5 U.S.C. \u00a7 13106(b), it must consider the full scope of Justice Thomas\u2019s omissions, including these new revelations.\n\nWe hope the Committee on Financial Disclosure moves quickly to resolve this matter.\n\nSincerely,\n\nSen. Sheldon Whitehouse (RI)\n\nRep. Hank Johnson (GA)", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T00:30:18Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://hankjohnson.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/whitehouse-johnson-urge-judicial-conference-consider-breadth-secret"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5598381869494915, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}