ST. LOUIS, Missouri — U.S. Rep. Cori Bush (D-St. Louis) joined the "Just Majority" bus tour in downtown St. Louis on Monday to rally support for expanding the U.S. Supreme Court from nine to 13 justices.
Several progressive groups, including those that support tougher gun laws, abortion access, environmental regulations, voting rights protections and campaign finance reform, organized to form the 'Just Majority' tour. The bus launched its trip in Boston and headed west for several stops throughout the country.
Bush called the nation's high court a "cesspool of corruption and misconduct," and "a danger to democracy" after a series of investigative reports revealed the extent to which GOP megadonors and organizations had enriched Justice Clarence Thomas and his family.
"The current Supreme Court is a lawless institution that is a danger to our democracy, and it is time for Congress to act," Bush said.
Recent reports from ProPublica, Politico, and the Washington Post have revealed ultra-wealthy GOP donors showered Justice Clarence Thomas and his family with lavish vacations, real estate deals, and private school tuition.
"Every week it seems more ethical violations by the justices are revealed," Bush said. "How can any person in this country have any confidence in the people who sit on the highest court in the land?"
According to the Washington Post, a conservative activist atop the Heritage Foundation also concealed more than half a million dollars in payments to Ginni Thomas, the wife of the conservative jurist.
During a Thursday interview on The Record, Senator Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) suggested Thomas was not under any legal requirement to disclose the gifts or secret payments.
When Hawley was asked if he thought Thomas would've received those gifts if he wasn't sitting on the Supreme Court, the Senator, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, dodged that question and answered a different one.
"So I think the question is, 'Has what he... 'Is what he's doing... 'Is what he's alleged to have done...' Has any of that violated the law? Has any of it violated any ethics laws? Has it violated any reporting requirements? And the answer, as far as I can tell to all those, 'No.'"
However, ethics experts and government watchdogs say the omissions in Thomas' financial disclosures may have crossed serious lines.
Martin Sheil, a former investigator for the Internal Revenue Service, wrote in The Hill that, "Clarence Thomas could be looking at criminal exposure...for falsifying his disclosure forms."
"There should be consequences for people in powerful positions that demand the public trust," Sheil said.
President Biden has said he would not support packing the Supreme Court.