WASHINGTON — In pushing back on recent charges that Justice Clarence Thomas is guilty of ethics lapses, Republicans and allies leaping to his defense have been quick to cite examples of liberal Supreme Court justices they say amount to similar misjudgments or nondisclosures.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Republican senators pointed to the conduct of liberals like the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, now-retired Justice Stephen Breyer and serving Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
“I think the more you peel back the onion, the more you realize the ethics issues at the Supreme Court are not solely the purview of one justice. There are issues all nine justices have in upholding their ethical responsibilities,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, which has called for ethics reform.
“Each of them has some ethical blind spots,” he added.
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In highlighting how justices across the ideological spectrum have at times had their own ethics questioned, Republicans are in some ways making the case for why bipartisan ethics reform might be needed, advocates for reform say.
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