Politics
Senate Dems Seek Special Counsel to Investigate Clarence Thomas and Billionaire Benefactors
"The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics."
Stepping up efforts to hold U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accountable for alleged ethics violations, two Democratic senators on Tuesday announced they'd requested that the Biden administration appoint a special counsel to investigate the right-wing judge.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who chairs a Senate Judiciary subcommittee on the federal courts and oversight, was joined by and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in writing to Attorney General Merrick Garland, warning that extensive reporting has pointed to possible violations of the Ethics in Government Act by Thomas.
While the senators' committees have presented Thomas with opportunities to explain his failure to disclose a significant forgiven debt and several financial gifts he received from wealthy benefactors, the justice "has maintained a suspicious silence," said Whitehouse and Wyden.
"The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have complied with their federal tax obligations," wrote the senators. "No government official should be above the law. Supreme Court justices are properly expected to obey laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety and to comply with the federal tax code."
"We therefore request that you appoint a special counsel authorized to investigate potential criminal violations by Justice Thomas," they added.
The senators cited a loan of more than $267,000 to Thomas, in connection with his purchase of a luxury motor coach. The Senate Finance Committee found that the provider of the loan, Anthony Welters, a wealthy businessman in the healthcare sector, stopped collecting principal and interest on the loan in 2008—suggesting the debt was forgiven and therefore taxable.
"The Ethics in Government Act requires justices to disclose any 'income from discharge of indebtedness,'" wrote the senators. "Justice Thomas did not report any such forgiveness as income on his financial disclosure report covering the year 2008, or for any other year."
The letter also points to numerous financial gifts Thomas received from benefactors including billionaire Harlan Crow, businessman Wayne Huizenga, and former Berkshire Hathaway executive David Sokol. The justice has reportedly received free private jet travel, lodging, tuition for his grandnephew, a country club membership, and free rent for his mother, among other gifts, "all of which Justice Thomas failed to disclose" in violation of the Ethics in Government Act.
"Justice Thomas has claimed that some omissions were 'inadvertent,' and he has amended some past reports accordingly," wrote Whitehouse and Wyden. "However, Justice Thomas has not disclosed all of the gifts that have been uncovered, and there may well be more. His long history of omissions indicates a pattern of willfulness meriting investigation under the Ethics in Government Act."
On social media, Whitehouse added that "the American people deserve a comprehensive investigation into the potential violations of ethics and tax laws by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas."
Court reform groups and other progressives have long called for Thomas to be held accountable for multiple alleged conflicts of interest and other possible ethics violations—demanding that he recuse from cases involving former President Donald Trump due to his wife's involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and calling for a federal investigation into gifts he's received from people and groups who had business before the Supreme Court.
"It's beyond time we hold Clarence Thomas accountable for his actions," said the advocacy group End Citizens United.
The senators noted that an ethics investigation by a special counsel appointed by Garland could shed light on payments reportedly facilitated by Leonard Leo, board chair of the right-wing Federalist Society, which has pushed for the appointment of right-wing judges to the Supreme Court and other federal courts.
"Last year, The Washington Postreported that Leo directed payments of at least $25,000 to a consulting firm run by Justice Thomas's spouse, with Leo specifying that the documents related to the payments should make '[n]o mention' of Mrs. Thomas," wrote Whitehouse and Wyden. "The furtive nature of the payments raises further questions about how many such payments were orchestrated, whether legitimate services were actually rendered, and whether such payments required additional reporting by Justice Thomas."
An investigation is needed, said the senators, to uncover "the full scope of potential unlawful conduct related to any coordinated gifts program for certain justices."
Abortion Rights Defenders Say Don't Be Fooled by GOP Platform Change
"Voters don't want abortion bans," said one advocate. "Republicans know it and this plan shows just how desperate Trump and the MAGA GOP are to strip away our reproductive freedom."
Reproductive freedom advocates on Monday warned against trusting the Republican Party, whose 2024 policy platform now "reads like the transcript" from one of former U.S. President Donald Trump's rallies—including its section on abortion.
"Republicans want to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban," declared U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). "The far-right extremists lied to the American people about respecting the precedent of Roe v. Wade. They are lying once again."
Trump, a frequent liar, attacked reproductive freedom as president and has bragged about appointing half of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who reversedRoe with a Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that paved the way for strict bans in over a dozen states.
However, Trump has also tried to distance himself from some extreme and devastating policies, recognizing them as politically risky as he runs for the White House against embattled President Joe Biden, a Democrat campaigning on his support for reproductive rights.
The GOP abortion policy appears on the second-to-last page of the 2024 platform, released just a week before the Republican National Convention is set to kick off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It states:
Republicans Will Protect and Defend a Vote of the People, from within the States, on the Issue of Life
We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).
Trump says he supports states making abortion policies. The Associated Pressreported that the platform reflects his position, "omitting the explicit basis for a national ban for the first time in 40 years."
According toPolitico, "Trump didn't just edit the platform language, but wrote some parts of the 15-page draft himself."
The Republican National Committee's (RNC) platform panel approved the document in an 84-18 vote, notedThe New York Times, which added that Trump "was especially focused on softening the language on abortion."
In response to the Times reporting, journalist Paul Blest asserted on social media that "this is such a ridiculous framing on this story about the Republican platform."
"The platform didn't soften the abortion [stance], it just didn't mention it, and the people whose job is to advocate for abortion bans are totally fine with it," Blest continued. "Why do you think that would be?"
"If there's a landslide thanks to Biden's hubris you can bet the GOP will try to jam through a 15-week ban, then a 12-week ban, then a six-week ban, then a full ban with exceptions, then a full ban with no exceptions," he warned. "Whether the platform says it or not."
University of Texas law professor Liz Sepper explained what is included in the platform, saying: "Y'all, the RNC draft platform does not 'moderate' on abortion. It commits to constitutional personhood for fetuses. It takes the view that it is not a mere statute but rather the Constitution that bans abortion nationwide."
"Allow me to anti-abortion translate: The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects life of fetuses," Sepper said. "With Roe, states could not so legislate. After Dobbs, they can legislate this view. And the 14th Amendment prohibits denial of fetal life IN ALL STATES."
"This is commitment to full constitutional personhood for blastocysts/embryos/fetuses," she continued. "That is, the RNC is committing to ensure embryos have rights equal to a full human person. There is no universe where embryos have constitutional rights and IVF can still happen on any scale."
Addressing the platform in an email, Biden's campaign said that "in a desperate attempt to conceal his extreme stance on abortion, Donald Trump directed the RNC to hide the ball on their unpopular plans to ban abortion nationwide—with or without Congress."
"Trump has endorsed every extreme abortion ban, including those with no exceptions for rape or incest, and has even said states should have the right to punish and prosecute women who have an abortion and monitor their pregnancies," the campaign added. "No one is buying Trump's sudden backtracking, including his fellow abortion banners."
The Biden campaign and other critics highlighted praise for the platform from leaders of anti-choice groups including Americans United for Life, Students for Life of America, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Meanwhile, Mini Timmaraju, who leads Reproductive Freedom for All, said that "the GOP wants to ban abortion nationwide—and their platform shows that they'll try to use the 14th Amendment to do it."
"Voters don't want abortion bans," she emphasized. "Republicans know it and this plan shows just how desperate Trump and the MAGA GOP are to strip away our reproductive freedom."
Humiliated French Far Right Helps 'Patriots for Europe' Become Major Parliamentary Bloc
"What do neo-Nazis, fascists, and sycophantic authoritarian bootlickers look like in the European Parliament? This," said one Irish analyst.
Dozens of members of French legislator Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally—which suffered a crushing defeat at the polls on Sunday—are joining forces with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to form what will be the third-largest bloc in the European Parliament.
Politicoreported Monday that 30 members of Le Pen's National Rally (RN) who belonged to the far-right Identity and Democracy bloc are joining Patriots for Europe, which was formed in June by conservative lawmakers including European Parliament members (MEPs) from Orbán's ruling Fidesz party.
Jordan Bardella—the 28-year-old RN MEP who was widely believed to be the frontrunner for French prime minister before his party's thrashing in a national election on Sunday—will serve as the Patriots for Europe's leader in Strasbourg. Patriots for Europe has 84 MEPs representing 12 European Union member states.
"As patriotic forces, we are going to work together in order to retake our institutions and reorient policies to serve our nations and peoples," Bardella said in a statement Monday.
As Euronewsreported:
Other national [Patriots for Europe] delegations include Austria's Freedom Party (FPÖ), Spain's far-right Vox, and the Dutch nationalist PVV, each contributing six MEPs. The group also includes three lawmakers from Belgium's Flemish nationalist Vlaams Belang, two from Portugal's Chega!, two from Czechia's Oath and Motorists, two from Greece's Voice of Reason, one from Latvia First party, and one from the Danish People's Party.
Renew Europe, a centrist bloc with 76 European Parliament members, reacted to the new far-right alliance in a social media post asserting that "Patriots for Europe are 'patriots' in name only."
"The far right have rebranded. But their mission is the same, to destroy values," Renew Europe added. "Shame on them for supporting the narratives of Europe's enemies."
Commenting on a photo of Patriots for Europe MEPs posted on social media, Irish defense and security analyst Andy Scollick said: "What do neo-Nazis, fascists, and sycophantic authoritarian bootlickers look like in the European Parliament? This."
"Nothing patriotic about them: They would see Europe under the Russian yoke if they got their way," he added. "#PatriotsforEurope = #TraitorsforEurope."
Defying Calls From Voters and Lawmakers, Biden Refuses to Step Aside in New Letter
"This is very obviously a letter to voters, not to Congress," said one reporter. "It reads like a campaign speech."
As U.S. President Joe Biden faces mounting pressure from elected officials and voters to drop out of the current contest for the White House, he remains defiant, as was on display in a Monday letter to Democratic members of Congress.
Biden's letter begins, "Now that you have returned from the July 4th recess, I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump," a former president and the presumptive Republican nominee for November.
Since Biden's poor debate performance against Trump last month, at least nine Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have called on the president to exit the race and another 18 elected officials have raised concerns about whether he is up to beating the Republican and serving another term, according toThe Washington Post's new tracker.
"I have had extensive conversations with the leadership of the party, elected officials, rank-and-file members, and most importantly, Democratic voters over these past 10 days or so," Biden wrote in the letter, which he shared on social media. "I have heard the concerns that people have—their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them."
Trump is on track to get the GOP's nomination despite three ongoing criminal cases, two impeachments during his first term, a recent conviction in New York, and fears that the aspirational dictator on "day one" will impose a sweeping far-right policy agenda, aided by new king-like powers.
"Believe me, I know better than anyone the responsibility and the burden the nominee of our party carries," wrote Biden, whose win four years ago provoked some actions for which Trump now faces state and federal charges. "I carried it in 2020 when the fate of our nation was at stake."
"We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters have spoken clearly and decisively," he continued. "I received over 14 million votes, 87% of the votes cast across the entire nominating process. I have nearly 3,900 delegates, making me the presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin."
Biden has not faced any major challengers during this year's Democratic primary process—though voters in several states checked boxes for "uncommitted," to express outrage over the administration's support for Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, which has led to a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
Aaron Regunberg, who is part of a new campaign urging Biden to "Pass the Torch," called the primary section of Biden's letter "so breathtakingly cynical and dishonest," adding: "They blocked anyone of substance from running and refused to debate. Does anyone honestly think that if we'd seen that debate performance last fall Biden would have won a single primary?"
Responding to the letter on social media, Current Affairs similarly blasted the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for actions that have benefited Biden during the primary:
This argument is sickeningly unprincipled. The DNC did everything possible to make sure there wasn't a real primary. They refused to hold debates, rigged the calendar of elections to be maximally favorable to Biden, and pressured would-be competitors to stay out of the race.
Even as voters were overwhelmingly indicating they wanted someone other than Biden, party elites made sure they had no other viable option. And now they have the audacity to say that democracy means we have to respect their deceitful coronation of an incompetent candidate.
Biden, meanwhile, highlighted some of his administration's accomplishments on the climate, healthcare, infrastructure, jobs, and student debt relief, and proclaimed that "I have no doubt that I—and we—can and will beat Donald Trump."
"More importantly, we have an economic vision to run on that soundly beats Trump and the MAGA Republicans. They are siding with the wealthy and the big corporations and we are siding with the working people of America," he wrote, warning that the ex-president and GOP members of Congress aim to push through more tax cuts for ultrarich corporations and people while continuing to attack the Affordable Care Act, marriage equality, Medicare, reproductive rights, and Social Security.
"The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it's time for it to end," Biden argued. "We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump. We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump."
The president delivered similar messages in a private call with donors on Monday—a recording of which was obtained by Politico—as well as an interview last week with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos and when he called in to MSNBC's "Morning Joe" early Monday and insisted that "I am not going anywhere."
The recent messaging has elicited a wide range of reactions, from Biden defenders welcoming "our marching orders from the president" to critics expressing disappointment over his determination to stay at the top of the ticket.
"It is hard to see how 'take a hard line in order to force a bitter public reckoning in the party shortly before the convention' is going to have a happy ending but hey who knows," journalist Hamilton Nolan said of the Monday letter.
Next Gen America stressed that "no matter who is at the top of the ticket, young voters know the stakes couldn't be higher. We are ready to turn out to defend our movement and the progress we've made and advance our own agenda."