'Shady and corrupt': Add Barrett real estate deal to list of Supreme Court ethics scandals
Thursday reporting on a real estate deal made by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett months after her confirmation in 2020 was the latest evidence, said a government watchdog, that ethics reforms at the high court must either be imposed by the judiciary or Congress.
Days after ProPublica reported on Justice Samuel Alito's previously undisclosed private jet trip—funded by a billionaire hedge fund owner whose business has been involved in numerous Supreme Court cases—CNN revealed that Barrett has had financial dealings with the Religious Liberty Initiative (RLI) at Notre Dame Law School.
A Notre Dame professor who had just taken a leadership role at RLI purchased Barrett's private home months after she was sworn in in October 2020.
The group, which advocates for religious freedom, was founded in 2020 and has filed numerous amicus briefs in cases related to the issue—related to questions surrounding abortion, public health precautions, and school prayer—since it was established. RLI has filed at least nine briefs with the court since the sale of Barrett's home.
The newly reported conflict of interest is one of several in recent months that have brought renewed scrutiny to the fact that the Supreme Court justices are not required to abide by an ethics code, as other federal judges are.
"The endless drip of shady and corrupt Supreme Court dealings just further underscores the need for reform," said Kyle Herrig, president of the watchdog group Accountable.US. "Every federal judge is bound to an ethics code requiring them to avoid behavior that so much as looks improper, except for Supreme Court justices. Chief Justice Roberts has the power to change that, but so far he hasn't shown the courage. If he fails to do his job, Congress must do theirs."
CNN also reported Thursday that RLI funded a previously reported trip Alito took to Rome shortly after the court overturned Roe v. Wade, stripping millions of people across the U.S. of the right to abortion care. In Rome, the right-wing justice mocked critics of the ruling, which has been decried as a violation of international law by human rights experts.
Alito ruled in favor of RLI's positions stated in its amicus briefs in several cases, and neither judge has recused themselves from a number of high-profile cases involving the Initiative.
In recent months, government watchdogs have demanded accountability for alleged ethics breaches and conflicts of interest at the Supreme Court, including Justice Clarence Thomas' financial ties to Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing last month to make the case for legislation that would require the high court to follow an ethics code.
Although Barrett's home sale may not have violated any rules, Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh told Accountable.US, it adds to the "perception problem" regarding the justices' ethics.
"It is addressed by the court being much more vigilant in guarding against perception problems created by [the justices'] financial wheelings and dealings," Geyh said, "and going the extra mile to make sure that they not only are clean, but look clean."
Read More Here: https://edition.cnn.com/2023/06/22/politics/alito-barrett-supreme-court-ethics-travel/index.htmlRep. George Santos’ $500K bond was guaranteed by his father and his auntSeveral media organizations, including NBCUniversal News Group, had requested that the court unseal the names of the bond guarantors, known as suretors.
WASHINGTON — The father and an aunt of Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., guaranteed his $500,000 bond after he was charged last month with more than a dozen federal counts, a source familiar with the matter confirmed Thursday.
The congressman's father, Gercino Dos Santos, and Elma Santos Preven, his aunt, were the suretors for the bond. They did not have to provide any money upfront — they are obligated to pay only if Santos violates the terms of his release.
Their names, first reported by ABC News, were confirmed minutes before a federal court in New York released a document just after noon Thursday showing the family members' signatures.
U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert had ordered that their identities be made public.
Santos’ lawyer had argued that unsealing the names of the co-signers would put them in a position in which they would be likely to "suffer great distress, may lose their jobs, and God forbid, may suffer physical injury.”
On Thursday, Santos told reporters on Capitol Hill that he kept their identities secret because he was concerned about their safety.
Asked whether his family members had the money to guarantee bond, Santos said: "Don’t you think that’s a little invasive? That’s exactly the reason that I chose to keep their identities secure. My dad is an honest working man, as is my aunt."
Later in the day, Santos tweeted, "My family & I have made peace with the judges decision to release their names. Now I pray that the judge is correct and no harm comes to them." He also asked the media not to disturb or harass his dad and his aunt.
Several media organizations, including NBCUniversal News Group, had requested that the court unseal and make public documents with the names of the bond guarantors, known as suretors.
Santos, 34, was released on bond after his May 10 court appearance following his indictment on 13 criminal counts. He has been charged with seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
Santos pleaded not guilty at his arraignment.
Other conditions of his release include random monitoring at home and a ban on travel outside New York and Washington without seeking permission from the court. He was also ordered to surrender his passport.
Santos is due in court for his next appearance June 30 in New York.
His lawyer didn't respond to a request for comment.
After he left court in May, Santos said some of the charges were “inaccurate,” and he expressed confidence that he would be able to clear his name.
If he is convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison for “the top counts,” the Justice Department said, without specifying which counts those were.
He has resisted calls for his resignation from fellow Republicans and said he still plans to run for re-election next year, despite ongoing investigations at the federal, state and local levels.
Meanwhile, the House Ethics Committee said Thursday that it has issued more than 30 subpoenas and more than 40 voluntary requests for information in its own investigation of Santos. In an update, the panel said it’s working to resolve the matter in an “expeditious timeframe” and that it has been in touch with the Justice Department to “mitigate the potential risks” of dual investigations while “still meeting the Committee’s obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.”
The committee typically steps aside when the Justice Department picks up a probe into a member of Congress, but it has continued to investigate Santos for potential ethics violations despite his recent indictment.
Santos first came under scrutiny after The New York Times published a bombshell investigation in December indicating that much of his résumé appeared to have been manufactured, including claims that he owned numerous properties, was previously employed by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup and had graduated from Baruch College.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/rep-george-santos-500k-bond-was-guaranteed-father-another-relative-rcna90580George Santos ethics probe widens despite 'risks' of 'dual investigations': report
An investigation into United States Representative George Santos (R-NY), led by the House Ethics Committee, will expand to address "allegations that he fraudulently obtained unemployment insurance benefits," which are already included in his recent federal indictment charges, The Washington Post reports.
After the right-wing congressman "was released on a $500,000 bond," following his New York arrest on 13 federal charges last month, Rolling Stone reports "the court revealed on Thursday Santos' father, Gercino dos Santos, and his aunt, Elma Preven, were the two individuals who helped bail him out."
Per Rolling Stone, in March, the ethics committee began its probe into "whether Representative George Santos may have: engaged in unlawful activity with respect to his 2022 congressional campaign; failed to properly disclose required information on statements filed with the House; violated federal conflict of interest laws in connection with his role in a firm providing fiduciary services; and/or engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual seeking employment in his congressional office."
Now, the Post reports, the ethics panel's probe will also encompass "the federal charges, which allege that he defrauded his donors, used their money for his personal benefit and wrongfully claimed unemployment benefits.
The Post also notes:
"While the ethics committee traditionally paused investigations into lawmakers charged with federal crimes so as not to interfere with the work of the Justice Department, members had previously signaled that they would continue with their inquiry into Santos. The committee's latest statement acknowledged 'the risks associated with dual investigations,' noting that they're 'in communication with the Department of Justice to mitigate the potential risks while still meeting the Committee's obligations to safeguard the integrity of the House.'"Following the GOP lawmaker's May federal indictment, United States Attorney Breon Peace said, "This indictment seeks to hold Santos accountable for various alleged fraudulent schemes and brazen misrepresentations," adding, "Taken together, the allegations in the indictment charge Santos with relying on repeated dishonesty and deception to ascend to the halls of Congress and enrich himself. He used political contributions to line his pockets, unlawfully applied for unemployment benefits that should have gone to New Yorkers who had lost their jobs due to the pandemic, and lied to the House of Representatives. My Office and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively root out corruption and self-dealing from our community’s public institutions and hold public officials accountable to the constituents who elected them."
Read The Full Reports Below:https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/22/santos-ethics-investigation-indictment/https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/george-santos-dad-aunt-guaranteed-bond-1234776107/GOP lawmaker calls for return of Mississippi’s Confederate-themed state flag: report
A Mississippi Republican lawmaker is calling for the return of the state’s retired Confederate-themed flag, The Mississippi Free Press reports.
State Sen. Kathy Chism issued the call to bring back the flag during a June 3 speech at a Tishomingo County political rally.
“That flag, a lot of our people fought and died under that flag,” Chism said, according to the report.
Both houses in 2020 voted decisively in favor of retiring the flag, which features red, white, and blue bars with a Confederate cross in the upper left corner. It was originally adopted as the state flag in 1894.
The flag’s retirement vote following decades of activism.
Chism was among 14 senators (all Republicans) from a body of 52 members who voted against the June 28, 2020 measure to change the flag.
The Mississippi Legislature’s Republican leaders finally agreed to vote on legislation to change the state flag on June 28, 2020.
Chism in a 2020 Facebook post falsely stated that the Confederate-themed flag had been designed by an African American soldier who served for the Confederacy.
“I can only imagine how proud he was that his art, his flag design was chosen to represent our State and now we want to strip him of his pride, his hard work. I’m sure he put a lot of thought into this design,” Chism’s June 2020 Facebook post said.
The Confederate-themed flag was designed by Sen. Edward N. Scudder, a white supremacist, according to the report, which notes that his daughter Fayssoux Scudder Corneil spoke about what compelled her father to design the flag during a 1924 speech to the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
“My father loved the memory of the valor and courage of those brave men who wore the gray … and has always taken keen interest in the reunions where he could meet and mingle with those of the Lost Cause,” Corneil said, according to the report.
“He told me that it was a simple matter for him to design the flag because he wanted to perpetuate in a legal and lasting way that dear battle flag under which so many of our people had so gloriously fought.”
Gov. Tate Reeves signed the measure to retire the Confederate-themed flag into law despite his previous opposition to changing it, and he created a commission that designed a new state flag with a Magnolia at its center, the report said.
The new design got overwhelming support from voters who backed it by a 73 percent to 27 percent margin in November 2020, according to the report, which notes that a similar measure 19 years earlier lost by a 64 percent to 36 percent margin.
Read More Here: https://www.mississippifreepress.org/34094/senator-calls-for-return-of-old-mississippi-flag-our-people-died-under-that-flag
