Texas Senator Ted Cruz is slamming Democrats as “racist” for demanding a “code of ethics” for the US Supreme Court after a series of bombshell revelations about unreported vacations and real estate deals among members of the court.
On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing to ask whether justices on the nation’s highest court should follow a code of ethics, days after an investigation from ProPublica revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose gifts, financial benefits, and luxury travel from a Republican megadonor and friend Harlan Crow.
Chief Justice John Roberts was invited to testify to the Senate Judiciary Committee, but he declined.
“The highest court in the land should not have the lowest standards,” committee chair Dick Durbin said.
But Republicans are saying that the attempt to impose ethics codes at the court is part of a smear campaign among Democratic lawmakers and the media to undermine the court’s authority.
“The left despises Clarence Thomas because he is a conservative African American,” Senator Ted Cruz said.
Justice Thomas and his wife Virginia “Ginni” Thomas also have come under fire following revelations that Ms. Thomas pushed to overturn 2020 presidential election results as her husband sided with Trump’s requests for endless recounts.
Cruz’s comments came after former federal judge Jeremy Foge told the Committee that “more is needed” to bring more transparency to the Supreme Court.
Foge said that while a code of ethics would not “make controversies about the court or its decisions disappear, it would be a statement to the American people that their faith in the court’s adherence to core ethical principles matters.”
Watch Cruzs and Fogel’s remarks below
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) pulls out racist posters depicting Clarence Thomas that he claims are proof of the Democrats' "political campaign designed to smear" the Supreme Court justice:
“The left despises Clarence Thomas because he is a conservative African American.” pic.twitter.com/NXDHjlKHrY
— The Recount (@therecount) May 2, 2023
A federal judge for 20 years, with expertise in judicial ethics standards.
The Honorable Jeremy Fogel on Supreme Court ethics: “I am here because I think more is needed.” pic.twitter.com/47qjnoQfhK
— Senate Judiciary Committee (@JudiciaryDems) May 2, 2023
