Senate Judiciary Committee to Advance Supreme Court Ethics Bill After Allegations of Justice Misconduct

The unusual step follows a wave of news reports that Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito failed to disclose ties to wealthy businessmen and political donors, including acceptance of luxury travel and accommodations, and that Justice Sonia Sotomayor used taxpayer-funded court staff to help sell her books.

Alito personally defended himself — arguing, in a rare op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal, that he acted appropriately. In Thomas’ case, he maintained that he thought he didn’t have to disclose those ties; while in Sotomayor’s case, the court said she and the others had been urged to follow proper protocols.

“They are the most powerful judges in the entire nation, and yet they are not required to follow even the most basic ethical standards. It’s time for that to change,” the Judiciary Committee chairman, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said Wednesday in a speech on the Senate floor.

Read the source article at ABC News