The Ethics of Nine of the Most Powerful People in America

NYT OPINION: The Ethics of Nine of the Most Powerful People in America
By The Editorial Board
Section: Opinion
Source: New York Times
Published Date: April 14, 2023 at 03:00AM

An ethics office at the Supreme Court, similar to ethics committees in the House and the Senate, should be established.

At least one member of the Supreme Court told Justice Clarence Thomas that there was no problem accepting privately paid luxury trips and other lavish gifts from “close personal friends” without disclosing them, according to a statement issued earlier this month by Justice Thomas. Whoever it was — names were not disclosed — gave him stunningly tone-deaf advice, given the uproar that followed when ProPublica reported that the justice had for more than 20 years accepted lavish gifts and trips from a billionaire conservative friend.
But Justice Thomas’s indulgence is just the latest and most egregious example of a weakness demonstrated by virtually every member of the court for decades, those nominated by Republican and Democratic presidents alike: a willingness to accept freebies, gifts and junkets — both costly and modest — from people and groups who find it useful to be close to nine of the most powerful people in the United States.
While some of these gifts have been disclosed (though not always in much detail), their preponderance — despite years of calls for restraint and self-policing by the court — show how vital it is that the Supreme Court adhere to a clear ethics code that would limit gifts and mandate full disclosure of all outside income to the justices.

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/14/opinion/editorials/clarence-thomas-trips-supreme-court.html