The Charges Against Justice Clarence Thomas

Justice Thomas has been a problem for the political left since he was nominated. The trumped-up charges against him did not work, and the Democrats were not able to deny him a seat on the Supreme Court as they had done to Robert Bork in 1987. Now, the Democrats want him investigated for vacationing with a friend and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants him impeached. So what exactly is going on?

On Friday, The Epoch Times reported:

After a news report highlighted luxurious vacations Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas allegedly accepted from a wealthy friend, Thomas said he was advised he didn’t have to report the trips. In a new statement, Thomas denied any wrongdoing and vowed to follow new reporting requirements imposed on the federal judiciary.

Thomas’s critics in Congress promptly seized on the report last week of the vacations, suggesting it raised the appearance of impropriety.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) demanded that the justice be impeached, saying his actions evidenced an “almost cartoonish” level of corruption. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee’s panel on federal courts, called for an independent investigation of the justice, who has long been a target of the left.

Whitehouse and other critics also say that justices whose spouses are involved in political activism, like Thomas, whose wife, Ginni Thomas, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, is active in conservative politics, should have to recuse themselves from involvement in cases related to that activism. Despite pressure, the justice declined to recuse himself from the various challenges to the disputed 2020 presidential election that made it to the Supreme Court.

Billionaire businessman and Republican Party donor Harlan Crow, who made the gifts to Thomas, has reportedly not had any business before the Supreme Court, so any allegation of a conflict of interest rests on weak grounds.

Nor is it clear if Thomas violated the judicial ethics code by not declaring the vacations. Legal experts say the code does not apply to the Supreme Court. The court has said in the past that the justices voluntarily adhere to the ethics guidelines.

Crow reportedly said the trips with Thomas and his wife were “no different from the hospitality that we have extended to many other dear friends.”

The article notes that he probably was not required to report the vacations:

“As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them,” the justice said.

“Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.

“I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines. These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance.

“And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future,” Thomas said.

Just another Democrat witch-hunt.

There Is Definitely Some Irony In This

Yesterday The New York Post reported that Rhode Island Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has been given an ultimatum by the Rhode Island Chapter of Black Lives Matter – resign or cut ties with Newport-based Bailey’s Beach Club (an exclusive all-white beach club) — or we will make your life miserable. The ultimatum was given by BLM Rhode Island on WLNE.

The article reports:

“We’ll go to his club, we’ll go to his office, we’ll go to his home — wherever we need to go,” one of the (BLM) chapter’s directors, Mark Fisher, vowed.

“This is an issue that’s not going to go away and Senator Whitehouse needs to address it, he needs to take it on,” Fisher said.

The threat comes more than a month after the state’s junior senator denied being a member of the controversial club, and insisted it was not his place to force family members to quit.

Bailey’s Beach Club also dismissed as “inaccurate and false” the characterization that its private membership was “all-white.”

“Over many years, Club members and their families have included people of many racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds,” the club told the Providence Journal, saying it included a “diversity of view and background.”

The article concludes:

The activist group is also not buying the senator’s claim that the club was on “the right side of pushing for improvements.”

“It doesn’t matter, you know what type of black people he brings in,” Fisher said.

“This club is a proven racist club with exclusive ties to supremacy and exclusion, and that’s something that’s not gonna be tolerated by me, by my associates, my affiliates or my organization,” he said.

Whitehouse did not respond to requests for comment, the outlet said.

I am reminded of Maxine Waters’ instructions to her audience to get in the faces of Trump supporters and let them know they are not welcome anywhere. This is the same tactic being used against a Democrat. If this illustrates nothing else, it illustrates that bullies can easily turn on their own. If you don’t want to be bullied, don’t participate in the  bullying of anyone else.

 

Rules For Thee, But Not For Me

There has been an awful lot of discussion lately about racism. In some areas of our society, people are actually moving back to segregation. Some of our colleges now have exclusive dormitories for minority students. Back in the twentieth century that was illegal. It should also be noted that Country Clubs and certain exclusive clubs have generally ended exclusive policies prohibiting blacks and Jews from joining. President Trump literally fought City Hall to make Mar-a-Lago open to membership for blacks and Jews (article here). However not all clubs have embraced the idea of membership for everyone.

Yesterday MRC TV posted an article about Democrat Senator Sheldon Whitehouse and a club he belongs to. The club is an ‘all-white’ exclusive club.

The article reports:

Nearly four years ago Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (RI) claimed “it would be nice if they changed a little bit,” when asked about the all-white Bailey’s Beach Club of which he’s a member.

This past weekend, GoLocal asked if any new minority members had been admitted over the last few years.

“I think the people who are running the place are still working on that and I’m sorry it hasn’t happened yet,” Whitehouse replied.

…Whitehouse has been outspoken on the issue of systemic racism, claiming that America must “root out systemic racism in its many forms and meet America’s full promise of justice for all.” 

GoLocal notes that Bailey’s Beach Club is not considered an average private club, it has been described as the most exclusive club in America.

I would have more faith in his statements that America is racist if he began to change his own behavior to be more inclusive. Discrimination based on race is against the law. Where is the Rhode Island Attorney General?

Please follow the link to the article to see the video of Senator Whitehouse successfully avoiding a reporter’s very good question on why Bailey’s Beach Club still has no minority members.