Pence supports Thomas and Alito despite ethics concerns: ‘It’s all about politics.’

Former Vice President Mike Pence Defends Supreme Court Justices Against Allegations of Ethical Impropriety

Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is running for president in 2024, has come to the defense of Supreme Court justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito amidst allegations of ethical impropriety. In an interview with Fox News Sunday with Shannon Bream, Pence expressed his “immense respect” for the Republican-appointed justices and stated that he takes “them at their word that they acted in a proper and upright way.” These remarks come in response to a series of ProPublica reports that revealed undisclosed trips taken by the justices with billionaires in previous years.

Politics at Play

Pence believes that the allegations against the justices are driven by politics. He suggests that left-wing organizations, such as ProPublica, are unwilling to forgive the appointment of three pro-life justices to the Supreme Court during the Trump administration. When asked about the possibility of the high court adopting an enforceable code of ethics, Pence dismissed the allegations as one-sided attempts to “bully” selective members of the Supreme Court. He pointed out that similar issues have arisen with Democratic-appointed justices, but they have not faced the same scrutiny.

“So I think we’re just looking at politics, and I have great confidence in the justices that are serving us today,” Pence added.

Allegations Against Alito and Thomas

Last week, Justice Alito became the latest justice investigated by ProPublica. The outlet revealed that he failed to disclose a 2008 fishing trip to Alaska financed by hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, who later had a vested interest in several cases before the justices. Similarly, ProPublica previously reported that Justice Thomas did not disclose various trips funded by a wealthy Republican donor.

The issue at hand revolves around a case in which the justices ruled 7-1 in favor of Singer, resulting in a $2.5 billion payout to the billionaire.

Denials and Defense

Both Alito and Thomas have denied any wrongdoing. Alito wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal hours before ProPublica released its report, stating that the report was intended to “mislead” readers. He argued that he was not aware of Singer’s connection to the entities involved in the case and therefore did not believe recusal was necessary.

Judge Amul Thapar, a federal appeals court judge appointed by former President Donald Trump, recently defended Justice Thomas in a new book titled The People’s Justice. Thapar emphasized that judges, like any other human beings, have diverse groups of friends, but those friendships do not influence their decision-making.

However, Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel at the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, criticized the title of Thapar’s book as “completely disingenuous.” Canter argued that Thomas, due to the extravagant gifts he has accepted from a wealthy benefactor, does not represent justice for the people.

Call for Supreme Court Ethics Legislation

The current rules require justices to disclose gifts exceeding $415, but the guidelines surrounding gifts such as travel or lodging remain unclear. In response to these revelations, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) have announced their intention to draft Supreme Court ethics legislation after July 4 if the chief justice does not take action on the matter.

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