Public Opinion of the Supreme Court is at an All-Time Low. Justice Thomas’ Ethics Scandal Isn’t Helping.

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 19 April 2023

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The ethics scandal surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas continues to deepen. According to Pro Publica, in the last 20 years, Thomas and his wife have enjoyed numerous luxury vacations and gifts paid for by billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. And it now appears that Thomas has been reporting rental income from a defunct company. Thomas’ ethics issues are not limited to the acceptance of gifts; his wife Ginni’s political activism and efforts to overturn the 2020 election have also raised questions about Thomas’ ability to hear cases that might touch on those issues. The questions surrounding Thomas come at a time when the public’s faith in the Court is at an all time low. We’ll talk with experts about ethics and the Supreme Court. Guests: Emily Bazelon, staff writer, The New York Times Magazine - She's also a Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School and co-host of Slate's political gabfest. Scott Cummings, Robert Henigson Professor of Legal Ethics, UCLA School of Law - Cummings is the founding faculty director of the UCLA Program on Legal Ethics and the Profession Alex Padilla, U.S. Senator Josh Kaplan, Reporter, Pro Publica - Kaplan is a member of the investigative team that broke the story about gifts and luxury trips taken Justice Clarence Thomas and paid for by a billionaire Republican donor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Support for Kikiweedy Podcasts comes from Rancho La Puerta, a resort with 85 years of wellness experience.
0:07.4	Three and four-night August vacations include sunrise hikes, water classes, yoga, and spa therapies.
0:14.2	Rancho LePuerta.com
0:15.7	Support for Forum comes from Broadway S.F presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:23.5	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:29.8	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
0:35.5	unspeakable crime, it propels them into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion.
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0:51.9	Tickets on sale now at Broadwaysf.com.
0:56.9	From KQED.
1:15.9	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm KQED Politics Editor Scott Schaefer, in for Alexis Madrigal.
1:20.5	The ethics of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are under intense scrutiny after a ProPublica investigation found that Thomas failed for decades to disclose lavish
1:26.2	gifts from a wealthy conservative donor.
1:29.2	Unlike lower courts and virtually every other branch of government, the Supreme Court has
1:33.5	no binding code of ethics or rules for transparency. And despite years of allegations about
1:39.0	conflicts of interest, the judges almost never recuse themselves from cases, and they don't have to.
1:45.1	This hour on Forum, the power of the Supreme Court and calls to rein it in.
1:49.2	That's coming up next after this news.
2:06.8	Good morning and welcome to Forum. I'm Scott Schaefer in today for Alexis Madrigal.
2:13.0	And this hour, we're delving into a topic that has put the U.S. Supreme Court under an extremely harsh spotlight.
2:24.4	Two weeks ago, ProPublica reported that for more than 20 years, Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting lavish gifts from a conservative Texas billionaire named Harlan Crow.
2:28.3	And since then, there have been other revelations about their financial relationship.
	...

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