Two Democratic U.S. senators announced Tuesday that they are seeking a criminal investigation of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over gifts of travel, a loan for a recreational vehicle and other benefits he received from wealthy benefactors, reported the Washington Post.
Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron Wyden (D.-Ore.)
said they sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland last week
requesting he appoint a special counsel to probe whether Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas violated
ethics, false statement and tax laws.
The action marks a significant escalation in efforts by Democratic senators to address ethics
controversies related to Thomas and the court in recent years. Whitehouse’s staff
said it was likely the first time anyone had requested a special counsel
investigate a Supreme Court justice. Whitehouse sits on the Senate Judiciary
Committee, while Wyden chairs the Senate Finance Committee.
Jeremy Fogel, a former federal judge and executive
director of the Berkeley Judicial Institute, said the Justice Department has
the legal authority to appoint a special counsel to investigate Thomas, but
whether it would is another matter. “Inevitably it would be seen as political
retribution for rulings the justices made that they don’t like,” he said.
Special counsels are generally appointed when the
attorney general wants to assure the public that a sensitive investigation will
be conducted fairly and free from political considerations; Garland has
appointed three special counsels during his tenure, to oversee investigations
involving former president Donald Trump, President Biden and the president’s son, Hunter Biden.
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