ProPublica reported that Thomas accepted lavish trips and gifts from a prominent Republican donor for more than 20 years without disclosing them.
“Justice Clarence Thomas has made a mockery of his ethical obligations and disgraced himself and the entire judiciary,” Bush said in a Monday statement.
It is clear that Justice Thomas holds a complete disregard for law and ethics that is incompatible with the trust and confidence placed in federal judges. For these reasons, and because the federal judiciary has failed to hold Justice Thomas accountable, I am calling for impeachment proceedings to begin regarding Justice Thomas’s apparent violations of federal law.
Bush and lawmakers led by Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, and Illinois Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García held a news conference and demanded that Thomas resign.
“It’s time for Clarence Thomas to resign because of his ethics violations and conflicts of interest,” García said in a statement. “It’s time for a binding ethics code for our Supreme Court, and it’s time for the wealthy and well-connected to be held to the same standards as everyone else.”
ProPublica reported earlier this month on a series of lavish trips Thomas has taken over more than two decades, which have been funded by billionaire and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.
Thomas has accepted luxury gifts from the billionaire Dallas businessman nearly every year, which had included vacations on Crow’s superyacht and trips on the billionaire’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet as well as a week each summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks, ProPublica reported, citing flight records, internal documents and interviews with Crow’s employees.
The report also found that flight records from the Federal Aviation Administration and FlightAware suggest that Thomas makes "regular use" of Crow's jet, noting that Thomas used the private plane for a three-hour trip in 2016.
On April 16, the Washington Post reported that that over the last two decades, Justice Thomas has disclosed that his family received hundreds of thousands of dollars in rental income from a firm that has not existed since 2006.
“These revelations are just the latest in a pattern of lawless and shocking behavior that has characterized Justice Thomas’s career,” Bush said.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin and Democrats on the Senate judiciary Committee stated in an April 10 letter that Supreme Court Justice John Roberts must investigate Thomas’ actions.
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold a hearing on the need to “restore confidence” in the court’s ethical standards.
Democrats promised to take action through legislation if Roberts does not address the court’s ethical standards.
“Holding judges accountable for their behavior is a matter of life-or-death for our communities. They wield enormous power, and the current hands-off approach to the judiciary has only emboldened lawless, corrupt, far-right judges to strip away our rights and make our lives worse off,” said Bush.
“This is why, in addition to impeachment, Congress must pass Supreme Court ethics reform, expand the Court, institute term limits, and take other actions to rein in this unaccountable, anti-democratic, and dangerous institution. Whether for reproductive freedom, civil liberties, labor rights, voting rights, or something else, every person has a stake in holding the judiciary accountable.
“History will judge how Congress responded during this crisis in our federal judiciary. House Republicans must move forward with impeachment proceedings. But if they continue choosing not to act, the Judicial Conference of the United States must immediately exercise its authority and refer Justice Thomas to the Attorney General for further action.”