Ass Clown Special Award

One of the most frightening things about present-day America is the precipitous decline in respect for the rule of law and our expectations of equal justice for all Americans, regardless of station. Much of it is because of the warped system of justice that allows the rich and powerful to evade responsibility for their misdeeds, whether by purchasing battalions of high-priced lawyers to overwhelm the prosecution, or by purchasing elected officials with huge campaign contributions or outright bribes in order to favorably shape the law during its creation. But much of it is because of the appearance ... and, indeed, the fact of a legal system that is corrupt and weighted against the average American.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, today we present an out-of-schedule 

Ass Clown Special Award

to

Supreme Court Associate Justice

Clarence Thomas

One of the biggest stories in recent memory of the sad decline of American jurisprudence was the story broken by ProPublica last week of the decades of free luxury travel and other gifts provided to Justice Thomas by one of his "dearest friends," Republican megadonor Harlan Crow ... almost none of it in the past three decades disclosed under prevailing laws and ethical guidelines. Mr Crow's largesse included free travel on Crow's yacht and private jet, vacations at exclusive and expensive resorts, and numerous gifts of significant value. In one case alone, the combined value of private air travel and resort expenses for a private citizen could have reached $500,000. 

Justice Thomas issued a brief statement in which he tried to deflect responsibility for his ethical lapses by saying that

"Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable ... I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines." 

You will note that Justice Thomas did not name any of the "colleagues and others in the judiciary" he claims to have consulted more than 30 years ago. He went on to say that

"These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future."

Translation: I got caught, and I'll be more careful next time.

That the most conservative justice of the Supreme Court has for decades accepted hundreds of thousands, if not millions of dollars of free travel and entertainment from a well-known conservative Republican megadonor and failed to disclose it is bad enough. But compare it to the real-world ethical issues that people less important and lower on the economic and judicial food chain must deal with ...

Years ago, as a contractor working on the Air Staff at the Pentagon, my offer to donate $5 toward a birthday cake for a military co-worker was refused by the officer in charge of the department as a potentially improper contribution. And consider this recent tweet from former FBI agent and now law lecturer and news commentator Asha Rangappa ...

"Not for nothing but I was advised to never take advantage of so much as a 'law enforcement discount' (like at a restaurant or public transportation) bc it wasn’t a good look. Who knew I could get just get rich 'friends' to comp everything for me."

Former advisor to Vice President Pence Olivia Troye, now a popular talking head, expressed it this way on Twitter, in the very words I would have used if I could be that eloquent when furious ...

"If I had taken very luxurious vacations & had surrounded myself w/ exorbitant wealth & an unexpected lifestyle during my tenure as an intel officer, I would have been questioned & polygraphed. The questions would have implied-how does this affect my loyalty to our country? Can this be used as leverage for access? Could I be blackmailed? Good to know that if you’re Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court, you don’t have to account for jack…."

Partisan lawyers and commentators argue that Justice Thomas simply misunderstood vague requirements and was innocently enjoying the benefits of having wealthy and well-connected friends able to bestow lavish gifts ... and that there's no binding code of ethics for Supreme Court justices, anyhow. I suggest it doesn't say much about a Supreme Court justice who doesn't understand the law, or ignorance of the optics of his actions. There is, of course, a fundamental legal principle - applicable only to those of us unable to afford the right lawyers - that "ignorance of the law is not a defense*." If you doubt me, try to use that excuse during your next traffic court appearance or IRS audit.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas - a person to whom we should be able to look as a paragon of judicial fairness and legal rectitude - has proven himself to be utterly clueless of the appearance** of potential bias caused by his acceptance of valuable gifts and largesse from an individual whose deeply conservative political beliefs are aligned with his own ... not to mention his wife's deep involvement in the January 6th, 2021, attempt to overturn the results of a presidential election. At the very least, Justice Thomas should immediately recuse himself from any case in which Mr Crow or any of his interests or organizations is involved***; at best, he should do the honorable thing and resign.

But, of course, he won't, because the GOP will protect him to the very end and the news media will move on to the next temporary outrage. And he will continue to make a mockery of the idealistic inscription on the facade of the Supreme Court

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Readers, Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is presented this Ass Clown Special Award for his plumbing of the darkest depths of political chicanery, graft, and clueless ass clownery in the finest GOP tradition.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo

* The official name is either "ignorantia juris non excusat" ("ignorance of the law does not excuse") or "ignorantia legis neminem excusat" ("ignorance of law excuses no one"). You can flash the Latin to impress your friends.

** And, more than likely, the reality.

*** In a statement to ProPublica, Mr Crow said he had "never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue." Wanna buy some land in Florida?