In the wake of revelations about the lavish vacations Justice Clarence Thomas accepted from a billionaire Republican donor over decades, the Democrats of the Senate Judiciary Committee have written Chief Justice John Roberts a letter. We often roll our eyes at the sternly worded letters Democrats write instead of doing anything, but this isn’t that. It’s worse.
The Democrats, led by Sen. Dick Durbin, the committee chair, “urge” Roberts to investigate “how such conduct could take place at the Court under your watch.” Literally they’re asking the man to investigate his own failure of leadership. They also call on Roberts to “take all needed action to prevent further misconduct,” as if the fact that he has not done so by now doesn’t speak volumes—he could have pressured Thomas to disclose the private jet flights and yacht vacations and regular stays at a private resort any time since he joined the court, because it’s been going on all along. John Roberts has the reputation of an institutionalist, someone concerned about the legacy of the court he presides over. But while Democrats try to appeal to that concern, the whole situation shows the sharp limits of Roberts’ commitment to ethics.
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