Pamela, I wanted to share some news you might have missed last week. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch recused himself from a major case about our right to a clean environment – over his close ties to a businessman who would stand. [1]
Gorsuch did the right thing by recusing himself – but doing so was completely voluntary. Why? Because Supreme Court justices are the only federal judges who aren't held to a binding code of ethics.
You read that right: Our highest court is held to the lowest ethical standards.
And unfortunately, we know all too well that the justices are taking advantage of this fact.
Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose gifts and luxury travel from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow and refused to recuse himself from cases around the January 6th attack even after news broke that his wife, Ginni Thomas, supported the insurrection. [2]
And Justice Samuel Alito also failed to report gifts, including a private jet flight, and refused to recuse himself from cases that impacted right-wing donors tied to him. [3]
Common Cause has been sounding the alarm on this judicial misconduct for over a decade because the Supreme Court should rule based on the law and what's right – not the Justices' personal or political interests. We must demand better from our highest court.
That's especially important when we need a Supreme Court that can serve as a check on the incoming administration – and protect reproductive freedoms, voting rights, and a clean environment from the extremists and billionaires seeking to dismantle them.
That's why we've been urging Congress to pass the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act – which would create a REAL, enforceable code of conduct to hold Justices accountable to the American people. And we're working to educate the public about what's at stake if we leave the Supreme Court to watchdog themselves without meaningful oversight.
The only way to stop this rampant Supreme Court corruption is for Congress to step in and hold these ethically unreliable justices accountable. Will you join our movement for a strong code of conduct by chipping in $3 now?
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The stakes couldn't be higher.
Thank you for joining our fight,
Aaron Scherb, Senior Director of Legislative Affairs
and the team at Common Cause
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