Thomas of the US Supreme Court will not be transferred to the Justice Department, officials said

Written by Nate Raymond

(Reuters) – The Judiciary Committee on Thursday rejected a request by Democratic lawmakers to refer U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Justice Department to investigate allegations that he failed to disclose gifts and trips provided by a wealthy benefactor.

The secretary of the American Judiciary Conference, the federal government’s top policymaking body, in two letters, cited amendments Thomas made to his annual financial disclosure report that addressed several issues raised by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and Representative Hank Johnson.

And in a separate letter it refused to transfer liberal Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Justice Department based on claims by a conservative group that she failed to disclose the source of her husband’s consulting income. Jackson has since amended his disclosure, the letter said.

Democratic lawmakers made their request in an April 2023 letter following reports by ProPublica and others that Thomas, a 6-3 member of the Supreme Court, did not report gifts including luxury travel from wealthy Texas businessman and Republican donor Harlan Crow.

Their letter said the transfer to the Department of Justice was authorized on the grounds that Thomas willfully failed to comply with the financial disclosure requirements of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

Thomas said he was advised not to report that kind of “personal favor” and said he would do so going forward starting with his 2022 annual report, which was filed in August 2023.

US District Judge Robert Conrad, who heads the administrative division and serves as secretary of the Judicial Conference, wrote that the judiciary has been busy since 2023 revising its financial disclosure requirements and clarifying when the personal hospitality exemption does not apply.

He said Thomas has filed amended financial disclosure reports since the problems first surfaced and that he agreed to follow proper guidance given by other state judges, including new policies.

“We have no reason to believe that he has done less,” wrote Conrad.

In declining to refer it to the Justice Department, Conrad cited “constitutional questions” about whether the Judiciary could do so that require further study.

He also said the lawmakers’ request was withdrawn when Whitehouse and another member of the Senate wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland asking him to appoint a special counsel to investigate similar issues.

(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Leslie Adler and David Gregorio)