VIDEO: Mike Lee Speaks Out About Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Enigmatic $1M Prize

The Washington Free Beacon reported that Ginsburg could have violated ethics rules

The late Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader ⁢Ginsburg would have found herself in hot water for concealing the ultimate recipients ⁢of a $1 million prize she won from a liberal billionaire’s foundation in ‌2019, according to Senator Mike Lee (R., ⁤Utah). He‍ made this charge during a Senate ⁢Judiciary Committee ‍meeting on Thursday.

“There is one allegation, it’s come to light fairly recently with regard to the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg⁣ … to the effect that she ​received a $1 million award that went unreported,” the Utah ‍Republican said in reference to a Washington ‌Free Beacon report ⁣ on conflict of interest concerns ⁣surrounding Ginsburg’s acceptance⁢ of the $1 million prize from the Berggruen⁣ Institute.

‌Ginsburg pledged when she accepted the prize in‌ December ⁤2019 that she would donate her ⁢winnings to more than 60 charities that reflected her personal causes. But the Berggruen Institute refused to provide ‍the full list of recipients to the Free Beacon, saying the late liberal justice ​wished to keep ⁢the charities confidential. Experts said the lack of transparency surrounding the recipients of‌ Ginsburg’s prize raises the possibility that ​some could have had business before the Court prior to⁢ her death.

⁢ “This⁢ might have some very significant ramifications if she was still serving on‌ the Court,” Lee said of Ginsburg’s prize. “We don’t yet know exactly what was‌ done with that, whether she carried out the apparent intention of the stated⁢ purpose of intent at the outset to donate it to charity.”

Lee’s ‍comments came during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting to mark ⁤up a Supreme Court ethics law led by Democratic Sens.⁤ Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) ‍and Dick Durbin (Ill.) to crack down on alleged ethical transgressions from⁤ conservative members of the Court. The move follows attacks from mainstream media outlets ⁣such as ProPublica against conservative justices⁣ Clarence Thomas ​and Samuel Alito that Republicans have cast as unfair efforts to instill a crisis of confidence in the Supreme Court.