Democrats ask for investigation into Clarence Thomas

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, left, accompanied by his wife Virginia Lamp Thomas, right, listen as he is introduced prior to speaking at the Federalist Society in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007.

/ AP Photo

Twenty House Democrats on Thursday asked for a federal investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' failure to disclose his wife's income, charging that he may have violated the court's ethics rules.

In a letter to the arm of the court system responsible for overseeing judicial practices, the lawmakers called into question Thomas' impartiality toward President Obama's health care overhaul, just as the landmark legislation is headed to the top court.

Rep. Louise Slaughter of New York and her colleagues assert that Thomas has not complied with disclosure rules under the Ethics in Government Act and asks the Judicial Conference, a group comprised of judges that sets administrative policy for the courts, to refer the issue to the Justice Department for an investigation. The letter specifically charges Thomas failed to report nearly $700,000 of income earned by his wife, Virginia Thomas, for her work for the conservative Heritage Foundation from 2003 to 2007.

"Due to the simplicity of the disclosure requirements, along with Justice Thomas's high level of legal training and experience, it is reasonable to infer that his failure to disclose his wife's income for two decades was willful," the lawmakers wrote.

In a press release accompanying the letter, Slaughter notes that the Heritage Foundation has been a staunch opponent of Mr. Obama's health care overhaul.

Earlier this week, Mr. Obama's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court to quickly take up consideration of an appeals court ruling that declared part of the health care law unconstitutional. The move indicates the administration is confident of the law's legal soundness, but it almost ensures putting the controversial health care reforms back in the spotlight just as the 2012 elections ramp up.

Slaughter said in a statement that Thomas' failure to disclose his wife's income "is suspicious, and according to law, requires further investigation. To accept Justice Thomas's explanation without doing the required due diligence would be irresponsible."

Virginia Thomas has been the subject of scrutiny before, with some questioning whether her advocacy for conservative causes creates a conflict of interest for her husband.

Thomas isn't the only judge who's impartiality on health care reform has been called into question. Last year, during Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings, Republicans said they were concerned about her bias, since she served as the White House's solicitor general when the reforms were crafted.

[mizRicki]

If any "investigation" needs to be done it's on Ruth Bader-Ginsburg who in a recent interview for an Egyptian reporter, basically said she doesn't believe in our constitution and that Egypt should use South Africa's constitution when drafting a new constitution. If she feels our constitution is "out-of-date" she should resign now.

[dzaffina]

thomas and his wife are another arm of the koch-topus. thomas his wife and justis scalia are bought and paid for by the koch brothers. google it.

[LaneC2011]

It's a red herring: A Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told the Huffington Post this week that justices are not required to disclose the amount earned by spouses--only the source of their spouses' income.

[jimbom121]

Gee, I wonder what the response would be if Kagan or Sotomayer had a spouse who was a lobbyist for cases that they were judging.

hmmmmmm

[crpolk]

Now why would they want to go investigate Uncle Tom for?

[jimbom121]

Gee...maybe because his wife is a lobbyist, who just last year lobbied against the healthcare law that he will decide on?

[Kenny777_y]

if anyone of us failed to disclose $70, we would face a fine and be known as trying to cheat the i.r.s. enough said.

[LaneC2011]

A Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told the Huffington Post this week that justices are not required to disclose the amount earned by spouses--only the source of their spouses' income.

[myopinionpal]

Only Anita Hill can fix this.

[RedDeath50]

If Thomas leaves or gets booted off, who is going to be Scalia's puppet??

Maybe he can make a deal and get Achmed the Dead Terrorist to take Thomas' place! (Achmed and Thomas are equally qualified!)

[elenin_sept26]

Ok, so over at the fast and furious, most popular story it has over 420 post, but is it linked in the news? Nope, not at all, while this story that nobody cares about has a big old picture and a top link.

Media Bias at it's best.

[noloyalisti]

Thomas is a criminal that should be investigated and prosecuted. He makes the entire court illegitimate. This is who we have on the highest court in the land? No wonder America has become a ghost of its former self and a laughing stock in the world. Shame on Thomas. Shame on this corruption.

[bradkt1]

As a Democrat I say that this investigation into Clarence Thomas is a gigantic waste of everyone's time. The outcome is not going to persuade anyone and Thomas has a lifetime appointment. Democrats blew it when they allowed him to be confirmed. Unless they have the votes to impeach him, Democrats should just shut up and move on.

[LaneC2011]

A Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg told the Huffington Post this week that justices are not required to disclose the amount earned by spouses--only the source of their spouses' income.