Durbin uses new report to accuse Justices Thomas and Alito of violating disclosure laws

A top Senate Democrat on Saturday accused conservative Supreme Court justices of violating federal disclosure laws in a lengthy report that caps a monthslong investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee and comes weeks before Republicans take control of the chamber.

A top Senate Democrat on Saturday accused conservative Supreme Court justices of violating federal disclosure laws in a lengthy report that caps a monthslong investigation by the Senate Judiciary Committee and comes weeks before Republicans take control of the chamber. The report from aides to Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat and chairman of the committee, says that the failure by conservative Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito to disclose lavish trips and other gifts from wealthy businessmen “constitutes a violation of federal law.” Durbin’s report is arguably the most comprehensive yet detailing luxury travel, private jet flights and property deals arranged for some of the justices, though it mainly calls attention to trips and gifts that have been publicly known for months. The report appears designed to lay out a record of questionable ethics on the court as Democrats prepare to hand over power to the GOP. “Now more than ever before, as a result of information gathered by subpoenas, we know the extent to which the Supreme Court is mired in an ethical crisis of its own making,” Durbin said in a statement. “It’s clear that the justices are losing the trust of the American people at the hands of a gaggle of fawning billionaires.” Similar allegations have been raised previously – including by Durbin – and the policymaking arm of the federal judiciary has been looking into claims that Thomas’ actions violated disclosure law for more than a year. Both Thomas and Alito have cited the “personal hospitality” exemption from annual reporting requirements, which they said relieved them of any obligation to report the trips. The federal judiciary clarified last year that the rules require jurists to disclose non-business stays at resorts and the use of private jets. In response to the outcry over the Thomas trips, the Supreme Court adopted its first-ever code of conduct a year ago, but the document quickly faced criticism because it includes no enforcement mechanism.