WASHINGTON — A billionaire Republican donor brushed off questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee about his relationship with Justice Clarence Thomas, in a letter Monday that argues the panel did not have the authority to investigate the lavish gifts he provided to the member of the Supreme Court.
An attorney for Harlan Crow told the committee Crow did not have to answer questions about reports Thomas did not disclose that Crow had provided luxury vacations for the justice, bought property from him and paid for a relative’s private education.
“Congress does not have the constitutional power to impose ethics rules and standards on the Supreme Court,” attorney Michael Bopp wrote in a letter obtained by CQ Roll Call. “Doing so would exceed Congress’s Article I authority and violate basic separation of powers principles. That precludes the Committee from pursuing an investigation in support of such legislation.”
