Chief Justice John Roberts of the US Supreme Court was asked to testify before a Senate committee on Thursday in response to news reports that raised questions about conservative Justice Clarence Thomas’s dealings with a real estate mogul.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is led by Democrats, asked Chief Justice John Roberts or another justice of his choice to appear on May 2 and provide a public hearing outlining the moral requirements that pertain to the nine justices.
Since Chief Justice John Roberts’ last testimony before Congress in 2011, also on ethics-related problems, “there has been an ongoing series of disclosures regarding judges falling short of the standards of conduct expected,” wrote Senator Richard Durbin, the committee’s chair.
Chief Justice John Roberts To Testify On April 27
“These issues were evident as early as 2011, and the court’s decade-long inability to address them has led to a crisis of public trust,” Durbin wrote.
Thomas, the court’s longest-serving judge and one of its most conservative voices, came under fire after the independent ProPublica news organization exposed him and his wife Ginni on luxurious excursions with millionaire Harlan Crow.
According to ProPublica, Thomas, who has cultivated an image of a modest judge who likes to travel across the United States in his camper, went island-hopping in Indonesia in 2019 aboard Crow’s 162-foot (49-meter) yacht after traveling to Asia on Crow’s private plane.
Thomas also spent time at Crow’s ranch in Texas and, according to the report, “typically spends about a week every summer” at Crow’s exclusive retreat in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
According to ProPublica, Crow, a significant supporter of the Republican Party and conservative organizations, also purchased properties from the justice in Savannah, Georgia, including the residence used by Thomas’s mother.
However, ProPublica and other media outlets allege that Thomas failed to disclose any of the transactions or gifts.
Thomas defended the friendship with Crow in a statement on April 7 and claimed to have known that such “hospitality” from a close friend did not call for reporting under official regulations.
