UPDATE: What is the Status of Justice Clarence Thomas’ Ethics Investigation?

Earlier this year, the Judicial Conference of the United States indicated that it was likely conducting an ethics review of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for potentially violating the Ethics in Government Act (EIGA). This was an unusual, but promising move, given that this is one of the only entities that can enforce ethics laws against Supreme Court justices.
  
But nearly three months have passed since the Judicial Conference’s March 2024 convening, and no information from this meeting – which would have included updates on a possible ethics review into Justice Thomas – has been made public, prompting Campaign Legal Center’s (CLC) Ethics team to write another letter requesting that the entity provide a timely update on this matter.
 
CLC’s Danielle Caputo writes in a new blog on this letter that: “Under EIGA, the Judicial Conference is in a unique position, as it is tasked with determining whether there is reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas knowingly and willfully withheld information on his financial disclosure statements.
  
If the Judicial Conference determines that there is reasonable cause to believe, then it has a responsibility to refer the matter to the U.S. Attorney General. This is one way to provide meaningful accountability for the ethical violations of a Supreme Court justice. Failure to do so would further harm public confidence in the judiciary.”
 
Read the full blog here.