Democrats want to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

Two Democratic U.S. senators called for Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 

Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, and Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, sent a letter to Garland seeking an appointment to investigate potential ethics violations, tax fraud and false statements. 

“We do not make this request lightly. The evidence assembled thus far plainly suggests that Justice Thomas has committed numerous willful violations of federal ethics and false-statement laws and raises significant questions about whether he and his wealthy benefactors have complied with their federal tax obligations,” they wrote in the letter. “Presented with opportunities to resolve questions about his conduct, Justice Thomas has maintained a suspicious silence.”

Whitehouse is chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts. Wyden is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. 

“The scale of the potential ethics violations by Justice Thomas, and the willful pattern of disregard for ethics laws, exceeds the conduct of other government officials investigated by the Department of Justice for similar violations,” they wrote in the letter. “The breadth of the omissions uncovered to date, and the serious possibility of additional tax fraud and false statement violations by Justice Thomas and his associates, warrant the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate this misconduct.”

Democrats have been frustrated with the Supreme Court and Thomas in particular for accepting luxury trips and other gifts from wealthy Republican donors.