Two Supreme Court Justices may have had an undisclosed conflict of interest when they ruled on Citizens United, the case that blew open the doors to unlimited, political campaign contributions by corporations.
Common Cause is seeking an investigation by the US Attorney General into possible conflicts of interest surrounding Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, asking for a brief meeting to discuss whether the justices should have recused themselves from ruling on the Citizens United case, which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on election campaigns when it was decided in January 2010.
• Both justices attended secretive political strategy sessions sponsored by Koch Industries, a major beneficiary of the Citizens United ruling. Koch is a multi-billion dollar conglomerate that has invested millions of dollars in right wing political campaigns and causes.
• Justice Thomas failed to disclose more than $600,000 of his wife Virginia's income from the Heritage Foundation (he has recently amended his filings to reflect this income), or any of her unknown salary from Liberty Central, a right wing political action group that was actively involved in the 2010 midterms.
• Justice Scalia recently met behind closed doors with the head of the House Tea Party Caucus, and Virginia Thomas is now promoting herself as an "ambassador to the Tea Party movement."
Common Cause writes, "All these facts create a troubling appearance of bias. Attorney General Holder, as the head of the Justice Department, has a duty to review these issues and to make a decision regarding the launch of an investigation. And we want a chance to lay out our case to him. Please call the Attorney General's office today at (202) 514-2000 and ask that he meet with Common Cause.
10 comments:
Boy, that is disappointing! I expect the supreme court members to be mindful of conflicts and of the potential for the appearance of being corrupted. They wanted the job and now they have to give up certain things to be in the position.
A comment to this post was in spam...I deleted it by mistake, this was a link provided by the author...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703555804576102073480714218.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Sorry. When you put links in the post it sometimes goes to spam...
I guess Koch Industries is the Haliburton of 2011
I guess everyone needs a villain when arguing their ideas.
My previous post went to spam so I am reposting. I was alarmed by the allegation that “both justices attended secretive political strategy sessions sponsored by Koch Industries, a major beneficiary of the Citizens United ruling.”
With a little research, I found that the “secretive political strategy sessions” were actually conferences of the nonpartisan Federalist Society, a regular sponsor of public debates and speeches on legal and policy issues.
Also, neither justice attended the conference. Both spoke at a dinner hosted separately from the conference. And neither spoke about the First Amendment, let alone restrictions on corporate spending. Mr. Scalia discussed international law, while Mr. Thomas delivered a speech on his recent memoir and life story.
Mr. Scalia's speech took place in January 2007, nearly a year before Citizens United was filed in the federal courts. Mr. Thomas spoke in January 2008, a few weeks after the case was filed but well before it reached the Supreme Court in 2009.
The argument that Supreme Court Justices can’t speak at dinners before nonpartisan legal organizations, whether it be the Federalist Society, the American Bar Association, or the National Bar Association, doesn’t hold any water with me. I, for one, want to hear what they have to say.
Whats with the photo?
Sorry, G, don't agree
Disclosures are disclosures.
I hope DOJ goes at this with balls to the wall.
These two men should have never been appointed to the Supreme Court. They are a bunch of right-wing freaks. And how about the Thomas wife, who just a couple of days ago registered as a lobbyist? She's the head of s conservative non-profit group. Sure! There's more money in non-profit groups than there is in the Treasury Department!
I have no problem with right-wing or left-wing judges. A diversity of voices and perspectives should render good debates. HOWEVER, disclosures are disclosures and this court's decision on campaign finance has damaged our country to the very core. I hope DOJ goes after them big time. They are not above reproach. At the end of the day, they need to play by the same rules as everyone else. I am furious with Thomas.
Citizens United only allowed corporations, non-profits AND UNIONS to directly spend money on political speech. They have ALWAYS been allowed to give money to PACs and other groups for poltical speech. After all, Congress cannot limit the free speech of any person or entity because of the First Amendment, which states pretty clearly, "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech ..." It doesn't say "except for corporations or unions". And in 2010, the amount of corporate money spent directly on political speech was ... just as little as was spent in 2008, 2006, 2004, etc. PLEASE, people, Citizens United is NOT A BIG DEAL.
I am sorry, I don't agree with PACS either - like that makes it all OK? Come on - they just put another nail in the coffin. Please.
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