CLC's Trevor Potter Leads Coalition Call for Clarity on Yearlong Investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas

Washington, D.C. — Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and — including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause, Fix the Court, Lawyers Defending American Democracy, and People for the American Way — submitted a letter to the Judicial Conference of the United States urging the entity to conclude its nearly 18-month investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during its bi-annual meeting this week. 

CLC initially requested in April 2023 that this committee of federal judges refer Justice Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General for potentially violating the Ethics in Government Act after he failed to report gifted travel in financial disclosure forms spanning two decades. 

The Judicial Conference indicated that it had initiated an ethics review of the matter in January 2024, but it has delayed issuing a final decision on whether it will refer him to the U.S. Attorney General for a full investigation despite having the power to do so at any time. 

Trevor Potter, Founder and President of Campaign Legal Center, issued the following statement: 

“Justices serving on the Supreme Court are entrusted with having the final say over constitutional disputes in our democracy. With this power comes the expectation that they will rule evenhandedly and the responsibility to act ethically. 

CLC has long advocated for the Supreme Court to be held to the same ethics standards as all other federal judges. Public trust in this institution is at an all-time low. The Judicial Conference should not risk making the situation worse by doing anything to normalize ethics violations — especially violations that obscure who may be trying to influence impartial legal decisions made by justices.”