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WASHINGTON, DC – After refusing Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats’ requests for critical information regarding his lavish gifts to Justice Clarence Thomas, billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow continues to dodge. In a letter through his lawyer released today, Crow incorrectly argued Congress has no authority to conduct oversight — a claim that offers little reassurance as the Supreme Court corruption crisis, which started with Crow’s relationship with Thomas, has caused public trust in the Court to plummet.

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It was Justice Thomas’s decades-long improper financial relationship with billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow that sparked the Supreme Court corruption crisis in the first place. It’s no surprise that Crow continues to believe he and Justice Thomas exist above Congressional oversight and above the law — but they don’t. Chief Justice Roberts has abdicated his responsibility to clean up his Court, forcing Congress to step in. Whether by Roberts or Congress, we need accountability and reform now.”

Accountable.US president Kyle Herrig.

In a statement, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin and Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights Sheldon Whitehouse called the letter from Crow’s lawyer a “clear, unwarranted refusal to cooperate with legitimate requests for information from this Committee,” concluding: “If the Court won’t act, Congress must. The highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards.”

All 11 Judiciary Committee Democrats signed the initial Senate Judiciary Committee letters requesting critical information from Crow — but not one Republican did. It’s no surprise why: Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee including Senators Graham, Grassley, and Cruz have accepted nearly half a million dollars in campaign contributions from Harlan Crow himself.

Accountable.US has repeatedly called for action in the aftermath of the unprecedented ethics issues undermining the integrity of our nation’s highest Court. 

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