Lawmakers Urge 'Corrupt As Hell' Clarence Thomas To Resign After New Revelations

Some say Thomas’ longstanding acceptance of freebies shows the need for ethics reform on the Supreme Court.

“This is a shameless lifestyle underwritten for years by a gaggle of fawning billionaires,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) wrote on Twitter. “Justices Thomas and [Samuel] Alito have made it clear that they’re oblivious to the embarrassment they’ve visited on the highest court in the land.”

He said that if the court wouldn’t reform itself, Congress should step in and do it for them.

Other lawmakers went further, demanding that Thomas to step down.

“Thomas takes cash bribes while crushing your freedoms,” Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-N.J.) wrote on Twitter. “He’s corrupt as hell and should resign today.”

Others also called on him to pack up his robes:

Unprecedented. Stunning. Disgusting. The height of hypocrisy to wear the robes of a #SCOTUS and take undisclosed gifts from billionaires who benefit from your decisions.

38 free vacations. Yachts. Luxury mansions. Skyboxes at events.

Resign.https://t.co/dX0FWXszIB — Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) August 10, 2023

Would billionaires have given Justice Clarence Thomas massive gifts if he was just a law clerk? NO. That’s what makes this corrupt. They were seeking to curry favor with Justice Thomas, either directly or indirectly. And Justice Thomas violated the law in accepting the gifts. https://t.co/j2BbLHnreY — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 10, 2023

Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court with his acceptance of massive, repeated and undisclosed gifts. No government official, elected or unelected, could ethically or legally accept gifts of that scale. He should resign immediately. https://t.co/RAda5Eke0h — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) August 10, 2023

No Justice should accept these types of gifts. Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest Court. I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform. https://t.co/GngG9eybBl — Rep. Gerry Connolly (@GerryConnolly) August 10, 2023

I called for a vote to impeach Justice Thomas if he would not resign back in April—before we even knew just how much farther his corruption goes thanks to @propublica’s reporting in the weeks since and again today. https://t.co/lNUQnc7oqp pic.twitter.com/vrilRGN1db — Congresswoman Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) August 10, 2023

Clarence Thomas must resign. https://t.co/PbrpKyUC9T — Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) August 10, 2023

Thomas once bragged that when it came to travel, he preferred camping in Walmart parking lots ― where budget RV travelers often gather ― and “seeing the regular parts of the United States.”

“I come from regular stock, and I prefer that — I prefer being around that,” he said in a documentary financed by one of his travel benefactors, according to Slate.

But earlier this year, it was revealed that Thomas enjoyed luxury travel paid for by Republican donor and Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow, and the new report shows he enjoyed dozens of other trips paid for by a number of members of the ultra-elite.

And as for camping, Thomas owns a $267,230 luxury RV financed by a wealthy friend in a deal he also failed to disclose.

The Thomas scandal has led to growing call for ethics reform of the court ― but at least one justice has bristled publicly at the notion of Congress stepping in.

“No provision in the Constitution gives them the authority to regulate the Supreme Court,” Associate Justice Samuel Alito told the Wall Street Journal last month. “Period.”