Editor’s Note: Julian Zelizer, a CNN political analyst, is a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University. He is the author and editor of 25 books, including the New York Times best-seller, “Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Lies and Legends About Our Past” (Basic Books). Follow him on Twitter @julianzelizer. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. View more opinion on CNN.
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The most recent ProPublica story about Justice Clarence Thomas is a powerful reminder that we need a code of conduct for the Supreme Court. Although surely most Americans would hope that justices can be trusted to act ethically, Thomas’ behavior suggests otherwise.
The ProPublica report revealed Thomas’s troubling ties to Harlan Crow, a major Republican donor. According to the report, Thomas has enjoyed a number of benefits over the past 20-odd years of their relationship, including cruises on Crow’s 162-foot yacht, stays at Crow’s properties in the Adirondacks and East Texas, and use of Crow’s private jet. According to the report, “The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.”
On Friday, Thomas said he did not disclose the luxury travel paid for by Crow, who he described as a family friend, because he was advised at the time that he didn’t have to. The Judicial Conference, the courts’ policymaking body, has only recently adopted broader guidelines when it comes to disclosing free trips, meals and other gifts and Thomas said it was his “intent to follow this guidance in the future.”
Regardless, the revelations about Thomas’ many luxury trips have raised inevitable questions about his judicial independence. It doesn’t help that the ProPublica report comes after Thomas failed to recuse himself from cases linked to causes for which his wife has advocated. Given the Supreme Court’s ongoing crisis of legitimacy, this latest report is yet another blow to both the highest court and the republic.
Somewhere, the late Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas must be shaking his head, wondering how Thomas is getting away with all of this. In 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Fortas to be chief justice. But Republicans and Southern Democrats filibustered the nomination, and used his…
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