Watch Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse call out Clarence Thomas' lack of ethics

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee spent Tuesday developing their argument for a bill that would establish an ethics code for the Supreme Court, since the justices have proved unwilling to police themselves. Conservatives (and wishy washy centrists) are trying to argue that Congress would be overstepping its powers by prescribing a way for justices to be held accountable for ethical violations.

This all comes in the wake of revelation after revelation surrounding Justice Clarence Thomas and his very lucrative relationship with billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. Thomas’ seeming lack of ethics has been exposed alongside the Supreme Court’s inability to implement any ethical standards.

One of the bills proposed by Democratic lawmakers seeks to create a “process for investigating misconduct at the Supreme Court, strengthen recusal standards for judges and disclosure rules for special interests trying to influence the courts, improve disclosure of travel and hospitality for judges, and mandate the creation of a binding code of ethics.” Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is one of the bill’s authors and gave a beautifully synthesized breakdown of how absurd Thomas’ position is.

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