Ex-Trump attorney Tim Parlatore on Friday said the Supreme Court justices’ acceptance of gifts “degrades the image of impartiality” following details of lavish gifts in their latest financial disclosures.
While the new revelations showed that Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson received tickets to a Beyonce concert worth $4,000, much of Mr. Parlatore’s focus was on Justice Clarence Thomas.
Justice Thomas has been under scrutiny since ProPublica reported last year that megadonor Harlan Crow showered him with gifts and trips around the world.
At the time of the report, Justice Thomas hadn’t disclosed those trips with Mr. Crow on his financial disclosure filings because there was no requirement to do so.
After the court adopted ethics and disclosure changes, he disclosed a pair of trips with the billionaire to Bali and a private California club.
“I’ve represented several senior executive branch officials with investigations from the Office of Government Ethics,” Mr. Parlatore told CNN’s Abby Phillip. “Military officers are only allowed to accept gifts up to $20. NYPD cops, they get written up if they take a free cup of coffee.”
“There are rules in place for federal judges that limit the gift that they can get at $50, but it specifically exempts the Supreme Court,” he added.
A report from watchdog group Fix the Court found that since 2004, justices have received gifts totaling $3 million.
“Any type of thing where they’re taking these large gifts — it’s an appearance of impropriety,” Mr. Parlatore said. “It’s something that does, in my opinion, it degrades the image of impartiality, and I think … this is something that the Congress should act and try and put in some reasonable regulations.”
