Unethical: Common Cause Investigation Uncovers Possible Violations by Justice Thomas
Justice Thomas Accused of Possible Ethics Violations
Common Cause Investigation Uncovers Omissions Relating to Wife’s Earnings from Conservative Entities
Source: by AFRO Staff
Common Cause, a watchdog group that monitors government and industry, is raising questions about the ethics of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over his failure to disclose income data for his wife Virginia, over a six-year period from 2003-2009.
“Common Cause is concerned about omissions in Justice Thomas’s annual financial disclosures,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar. “… we discovered apparent gaps over seven years in Justice Thomas’s disclosures of his wife’s earnings.”
The day after the group raised questions about the conservative Black jurist’s ties to a right-wing industrial giant, they zeroed in Jan. 21 on compliance with Ethics in Government rules. Common Cause pointed out to the Judicial Conference of the United States, the nation’s court regulator, that Virginia Thomas’ earnings while at the Heritage Foundations, a conservative advocacy organization, were not reported from 2003 to 2007. During that period, Common Cause indicates that Thomas earned $686,589, a salary of $120,000 or greater each year. (more…)
