Democratic senators are urging Garland to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clarence Thomas.

Washington — Democratic Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ron Wyden of Oregon have urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate possible violations of federal tax and ethics laws by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who failed to disclose trips and accommodations funded by wealthy benefactors in his financial reports. In their letter dated July 3 and released on Tuesday, the senators stated that the findings of investigations and previous publications provide evidence.“repeated and intentional”gaps in gifts and income in Thomas's annual financial reports.

Democrats claim that the scale of potential ethical violations related to the judge exceeds the cases for which other federal officials have come under investigation by the Department of Justice."The appointment of a special prosecutor will serve the public interest."— noted Whitehouse and Wyden in their statement.“The state must be confident that the judicial system and the Ministry of Justice fulfill their duties honestly, impartially, and independently of political gain or party interests.”

In recent months, Democratic senators have been focusing on the ethical practices of the Supreme Court amid news about trips that Thomas accepted from Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow, without mentioning them in his financial disclosures. According to him, Thomas and Crow have been friends for over 20 years and have taken many family trips together. Thomas claims that he did not feel it was necessary to report the trips according to the rules regarding personal hospitality, but he expressed his willingness to follow new disclosure guidelines set by the Judicial Conference in March.

In the latest financial report submitted in May, Thomas officially listed two trips with Crow in July 2019 — to Bali and to a private club in Monte Rio, California. In a report released last year, he also mentioned trips on Crow's private jet and accommodations on his property in the Adirondacks in 2022, as well as a real estate deal with Crow in 2014. However, Democratic senators claim in their letter to Garland that they believe Thomas accepted undisclosed gifts and income that could amount to millions of dollars.

Weiden and Whitehouse reported that the Senate committees on finance and justice are investigating a loan of $267,000 related to Thomas's purchase of a recreational vehicle in 1999. This loan was provided by Thomas's friend Anthony Walters, and materials obtained by the Democratic-led finance committee show that Thomas only paid interest on the loan. This same information indicates that Walters forgave the remaining debt in 2008, but Thomas did not disclose the debt forgiveness in his 2008 financial report.

In January, the judge's lawyer informed Biden and the White House that Thomas and his wife“All amounts were regularly paid to Mr.

They stated that federal ethics laws require him to disclose information about gifts, and it is unlikely that they fall under the exception for personal hospitality."The previous financial reports of Judge Thomas, along with his subsequent amendments, indicate that he was not unaware of the basic requirements that were expected of him to comply with."— noticed Weiden and Whitehouse.“We believe that this series of submissions, errors, and corrections provides sufficient grounds for further investigation by the relevant authorities.”

The senators also mentioned that gifts could indicate the possibility of tax violations by businesspeople if they did not disclose or pay any required gift taxes.“We are not making this request lightly,”— noted Whitehouse and Wyden."The evidence gathered so far clearly indicates that Judge Thomas has committed numerous intentional violations of federal ethical standards and perjury laws, and raises important questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have fulfilled their federal tax obligations."

Despite the outreach, Thomas's representative did not respond to requests for comments on the matter. Democrats on the judiciary committee are expected to publish a report this summer with the findings of their investigation into ethics practices at the Supreme Court. Some of their requests for information, such as asking Chief Justice John Roberts to answer questions about ethical issues, were denied due to separation of powers concerns. The committee chair, Senator Dick Durbin, attempted last month to pass a bill unanimously that would require the Supreme Court to adopt mandatory ethical standards, but this was blocked by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. The Court itself approved official ethical standards in November, but the new code does not include mechanisms for enforcement.