Washington ethics watchdog CREW has asked the DoJ and the Supreme Court to initiate formal investigations about laws that Clarence Thomas might have broken by refusing to disclose gifts and real estate transactions. CREW's 13 page letter is here. Page 10 states that criminal sanctions may apply, but the cited statute (5 USC §13106 - Failure to file or filing false reports) provides only for a civil penalty of up to $50,000.
The penalty attaches if a person knowingly and willfully fails to file or report any information they required to report under 5 USC §13104. That would seem to let Thomas off the hook if he claims that he claims that he did not knowingly or willfully fail to file or report any required information. If that is correct, this will probably amount to a nothingburger.
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Given the lack of laws and ethics rules that apply to Supreme Court justices, Thomas will probably not face any meaningful repercussions for anything he did or will do in the future. Some people really are above the law.
Supreme Court corruption update: New reporting by the WaPo asserts that in recent years, Thomas has received between $50,000 and $100,000 annually from a company that arose from a defunct real estate company Ginger Ltd. His 6 page reporting statement is here. At page 4 of his 2021 annual financial disclosure statement, Thomas' income from Ginger Ltd. was estimated by Thomas to be category N ($250,001 to $500,000). I'm not sure where the WaPo's annual $50,000 to $100,000 amount comes from. The new Ginger entity is listed as owned by the sister of Thomas' wife Ginni. As expected from a master of the KYMS tactic, Thomas refuses to answer any questions and apparently nothing can force him to answer.
KYMS = keep your mouth shut
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Is this juror intimidation or not? Firstpost writes:
The names of the jurors who will determine in a future civil lawsuit whether the former president defamed the author E. Jean Carroll, who also alleges Trump assaulted her, will remain a secret from Donald Trump.
Trump’s latest attempt to mandate that potential jurors supply their names, job information, and 38 other pieces of information on written questionnaires was denied by US District Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan on Friday.
Nothing has changed US District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s decision to seat an anonymous jury for the April 25 trial, reflecting the potential of juror harassment, as he said that the law was “abundantly clear” and that it was up to him to decide whether to utilize questionnaires.
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