Blue Mass Group

Reality-based commentary on politics.

Justice Thomas ignores law

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Thomas appears to think that the law does not apply to him, for some reason.

The Supreme Court is “the only judicial body in the country that is not governed by a set of judicial ethical rules,” Gillers said.

A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which oversees the financial disclosures, could not be reached Friday night to comment on what actions could be taken. In most cases, judges simply amend their forms when an error is discovered.

Who says we don’t have an aristocracy?

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  1. considering Common Cause’s complaint to the DOJ about a conflict of interest involving both Scalia and him in the Citizens United decision.

    Since that decision, information has come to light that raises serious questions about the impartiality of Justices Thomas and Scalia in the Citizens United case.  It appears both justices have participated in political strategy sessions, perhaps while the case was pending, with corporate leaders whose political aims were advanced by the decision.

    We’ll see how AG Holder responds in view of the current effort by the Obama WH to make nice with the GOP and big business.

  2. Even current Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner had them…

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    … Senate Finance Committee made public concerns about Geithner’s tax obligations, which resulted in his recent payment of $42,702 in additional taxes and interest for tax years 2001 to 2004. In addition, the committee’s report on the matter says that in 2005 Geithner employed a housekeeper for about three and a half months after her ability to work in the U.S. had lapsed.

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    Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., described Geithner’s errors as “serious,” but he said they were “honest mistakes” that “do not rise to the level of disqualification.”

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    p>I don’t want to list all the people who made “honest mistakes” but when it comes to someone (Stephen Gillers, a professor at NYU School of Law) from the “other side” we get this “unbiased” comment…

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    “It wasn’t a miscalculation; he simply omitted his wife’s source of income for six years, which is a rather dramatic omission,” Gillers said. “It could not have been an oversight.”

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    p>I wonder if this Law professor teaches about things like EVIDENCE?

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    p>Hmmm… do we treat these tax issues as consistently where people like Geithner and Suzanne Bump are allowed to pay cash for their “honest mistakes” or only when they are in our party?

    • …people here were upset about tax issues with Obama’s appointments too.  There are honest mistakes all around as long as they get fixed, as I know at least Bump did.  Though I do think that justices more than anyone should be like Ceasar’s wife above reproach.

        • Quite frankly I don’t even like the idea of his wife working for a place like the Heritage Foundation, reported or not.  A Justice has to be completely neutral in both appearance and fact.  I’m sure Heritage has filed its share of amicus briefs in SCOTUS over the years.

            • I’m in no way suggesting wives shouldn’t have professional lives and independent careers, just preferably not such that intertwine so closely with their husband’s judicial positions and that engage in a level of politics and ideology that justices themselves should stay away from.  To be clear, I’d make the exact same complaint about husbands of women on the bench in the same situation.

            • I don’t think it’s appropriate to limit the employment of a family member, etc.  Report it, keep an eye on it, transparency, etc.

            • She’s an adult, and she knows that she js legally required to pay income tax.  Perhaps she shouldn’t let her husband treat her like a zombie-bot and take an active role in the things she is legally responsible for.  

    • Many public officials must report sources of income for themselves and spouses to ETHICS boards.  A legislator must annually report where their income if from, unless it is in a ‘blind trust’ where they have no direct knowledge of where the investment income comes from.

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      p>The ranges are pretty laughable – ‘I got between Six Cents and Six Million Dollars from Giganormous Corp. in calendar 2010’ – but the filings are made.  Nothing to do with reporting income for tax purposes.

  3. When John Tierney in effect said that his wife’s business was her business not his, he admitted and his ethics filings bear out, a willingness to not abide by the rules of the House of Representattives regarding disclosure.  Were you upset at his conduct?

  4. Great points! Everything is equal! A Congressman whose wife has a troubled brother that she helped clandestinely is exactly equivalent to a U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice whose wife is apparently an extremely well-compensated activist advancing conservative causes! I mean, both of those situations could happen to anybody! Let’s forget the whole thing, and move on.

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    p>Oh wait — Mrs. Tierney is doing some time. Aw, gosh darn it, Ginny. we better talk to a lawyer. And choose wisely with that one phone call!

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  6. The present Supreme Court is corrupt.  Justice Thomas and Justice Scalia have been politically active in ways that I don’t recall ever happening before.  The closest example I can think of is William O Douglas but I don’t recall him going half the distance into politics that Thomas and Scalia have.

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    p>Thomas’ leaving off his wife’s income for 13 years in the annual disclosure forms is a clear sign of ethical neglect, at the very least.  His excuse that he didn’t understand the directions doesn’t stand the smell test.  I am glad that some in Common Cause are calling for an investigation and, possibly, impeachment.

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    p>Scalia’s refusal to recuse himself from a case in which his hunting companion, VP Biggus Dickus Cheney, had an interest has made me conclude that he is inalterably arrogant and corrupt.  Both he and Thomas need to answer about their relationship to the Koch Bros and their various enterprises.  I suspect that only a DOJ investigation AND actual impeachment will get the full facts out.

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