the theory I read for why #Durbin isn’t holding hearings on our corrupt and compromised #SCOTUS is that the Senate Dems want to confirm as many judges as possible before the election/inauguration.
Seems plausible, BUT I also think people can walk and chew gum at the same time. He should get off the pot.
New data from #FixTheCourt
on the value of gifts members of the court received & reported over the past two decades. Still the gifts aka bribes NOT all reported.
One of these Justices is not like the others. Clarence Thomas, Flag guy Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Handmaid are not qualified to work in the legal profession in any capacity, let's call it, as it is.
Clarence Thomas acknowledged on Friday additional luxury travel he had accepted from a conservative billionaire.
He amended a previous financial disclosure to reflect trips he had taken to an Indonesian island and a secretive all-male club in the Northern California redwoods.
The trips, taken in 2019, were earlier revealed by ProPublica, but it is the first time that Justice Thomas has included them on his financial disclosures12.
Other Supreme Court justices chronicled their gifts, travel and money earned from books and teaching.
Last year, ProPublica documented an array of undisclosed luxury vacations and other gifts Thomas has received over the years from several billionaires, including Crow.
Legal ethics experts said that Thomas appeared to have violated the law by failing to disclose the trips and gifts.
The Thomas revelations helped plunge the Supreme Court into its biggest ethical crisis in the modern era
The reports show several #SCOTUS justices earning additional income from teaching at #law schools & accepting free travel to speak at events at universities & #legal orgs.
Justice Samuel #Alito was granted an extension to file his report, as he has received in past yrs.
Fed #ethics law requires top ofcls from all branches of govt, incl the justices, to file annual disclosures listing investments, gifts, outside income & spousal income source so the public can assess #conflicts of interest.
As of Jan, Chief Justice #JohnRoberts earns an annual salary of $312,200, while associate justices each earn $298,500. The judiciary’s rules limit justices to “outside earned income” of no more than about $32k per year, which many collect through teaching positions.
Book-writing payments do not count as outside income…. ≥4 #SCOTUS justices have forthcoming #books about their lives & the #law. Reports released Fri show #Kavanaugh is at work on a book, for which he has so far received $340k.
One of the stupidest takes of #libertoloids (right-wing libertarians) is that you don't need laws or enforcement, that the only thing you need is a judge to resolve conflicts.
I never bothered to reply to them on #Twitter how idiotic this take was, for very two simple reasons:
the judge has no executive power, so whatever their ruling is, it's ineffective if there's no executive power to enforce it.
judges are corruptible.
Kind of regret not pointing 2. out, given the #SCOTUS sitch.