Posted on 04/24/2023 1:44:43 PM PDT by Twotone
Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke out last week to support Justice Clarence Thomas.
At an event for the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals, Breyer defended Thomas as a "man of integrity," casting doubt on allegations that Thomas is guilty of ethical — and even legal — transgressions.
"As far as I’m concerned, I sat next to him on the bench for 28 years. I like him. He’s a friend of mine. I’ve never seen him do anything underhanded or say anything underhanded," Breyer said, according to Bloomberg Law.
"My personal point of view is he’s a man of integrity," he added.
The defense comes weeks after ProPublica raised significant questions about Thomas' close relationship to billionaire Harlan Crow. Through its reporting, the outlet has suggested Thomas has skirted disclosure guidelines meant to protect the integrity of the judiciary. Both Crow and Thomas have denied charges of impropriety, and it's not even clear whether Thomas has committed any wrongdoing.
More from Bloomberg Law:
Breyer acknowledged that the justices can make mistakes, but pushed back on the criticism that the Supreme Court does nothing on ethics.
Breyer said if an issue comes up, he views it as “whatever applies to all the judges applies to me.” He said the difficulty with a code of ethics in the Supreme Court is that the justices can’t be replaced if they disqualify themselves like lower court judges.
Breyer's remarks on Friday are actually the second time in less than a year that the left-leaning justice has spoken out in defense of his conservative former colleague.
Last September, Breyer refused to criticize Thomas' wife, Virigina "Ginni" Thomas, for her work in conservative politics.
When asked whether her work hurts the Supreme Court, like many critics of the Thomases claim, Breyer told CNN, "I don't go through that in that I strongly believe that women who are wives, including wives of Supreme Court justices, have to make the decisions about how to lead their lives, careers, what kind of career, etc., for themselves."
"I'm not going to criticize Ginni Thomas, whom I like," he added. "I'm not going to criticize Clarence, whom I like. And there we are."
Count on Clarence Thomas being impeached but not “convicted” by the Senate. My guess is that Rat Party Headquarters knows this and is Hoping that he’ll say to himself “damn,I’m sick of this. I’m x years old,I have a nice nest egg and pension.I’m done”.
“Count on Clarence Thomas being impeached but not “convicted” by the Senate. “
If a Republican House of Representatives impeaches Clarence Thomas, no matter whether or not the Senate convicts, you will know the Republic is over for sure.
THERE are NO GROUNDS.
People are bitching about a new set of rules-—which they wish to apply RETROACTIVELY to Thomas.
I don’t think GSC has thought this through. The Republican House is not going to impeach Thomas
Every Rat will vote to impeach. Then all it will take is a handful of RINOs. Every Senate Rat will vote to “convict” and at least one or two RINOs (Pierre DeLecto,for example)...not enough to remove.
See Post #6
Just another Democrat hit job.
Breyer sounds like an old-fashioned liberal.
And that’s why they hate him. Integrity is a fatal character flaw in Beltway circles.
Any Justice who has a meal, is scrutinized for who the meal might be had or paid with! Clearly, the rats are soooo corrupted, it would be an easy first year student project to expose all scumrats for power money meals.
Thomas would sooner have them make him “The Weekend at
Barney’s” poster boy for the next 40 years, than surrender
to the Left’s demands.
He’s perhaps the most clear thinker on the court today.
He didn’t break any laws.
Let the Left wallow in its own human waste. That’s
their forte.
Yup. Many people have had friends with beach houses, cabins, etc., and have received invites to stay there.
Which Republican committee chairman is going to initiate the hearings?
After watching Thomas’s SC confirmation hearings, I came to DESPISE Biden.
He is evil, and I strongly suspect, racist!
WOW! Blind Squirrel!
Of course there are no grounds.But when did that ever stop Rat Party Headquarters?
I’m not sure of the procedure but if a vote of the entire House was held wouldn’t that start the process?
Breyer was a partisan Democrat on Teddy Kennedy’s staff. He knows that if the left and the media want to go after Thomas, the right can go after the leftists on the Supreme Court.
With a Republican House, that’s not going to happen.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.