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U.S. Supreme Court

Judicial Conference declines to refer Justices Thomas, Jackson to DOJ for probes over alleged disclosure issues

By Debra Cassens Weiss

January 6, 2025, 12:00 pm CST

The U.S. Judicial Conference indicated Thursday that it will not refer U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Department of Justice to investigate whether they violated ethics rules for alleged disclosure failures.

The Judicial Conference disclosed its decision in letters to two Democratic lawmakers who sought a probe for Thomas and to a conservative think tank that sought a referral for Jackson.

SCOTUSblog, Above the Law, Reuters, Law.com and the Volokh Conspiracy have coverage.

U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia, who are Democrats, had requested referrals for Thomas following reports that he failed to disclose his interest in three properties sold to billionaire Harlan Crow, gifts of luxury travel from Crow, Crow’s payment of private school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew, and Thomas’ purchase of a recreational vehicle with a loan from another wealthy friend.

The conservative Center for Renewing America had sought Jackson’s referral for allegedly failing to disclosure some of her husband’s medical-malpractice consulting income and potentially failing to disclose private contributions to her investiture celebration.

Both justices have filed amended disclosure statements addressing issues identified by the lawmakers and the Center for Renewing America, said Senior U.S. District Judge Robert J. Conrad Jr. of the Western District of North Carolina in the letters to the lawmakers and to the conservative group. Conrad is also the secretary of the Judicial Conference.

In addition, ethics rules exempted gifts of personal hospitality from disclosure, the letters said. Guidance released in March and April 2023 said the exemption does not apply to gifts of transportation that substitute for commercial transportation, however, and to gifts at a property regularly rented out to others for a business purpose.

Generally, new guidance is not applied retroactively to previously filed reports, the Judicial Conference said. With regard to the personal hospitality exemption, the Judicial Conference agreed that its 2023 guidance doesn’t apply to travel to travel before 2022 because of confusion over the issue.

The Judicial Conference letters also said there “is reason to doubt” whether the conference has the authority to refer Supreme Court justices to the DOJ.