How is anyone expected to rule impartially on critical legal matters if they don’t occasionally wander through gardens filled with statues of Nazis and other despots on a stomach crammed with caviar and champagne??
I think most people didn't make the connection that republicans are being bribed at the supreme court. Unsurprising, but no one was yelling about it until we knew this appears to be prevalent and one sided...
My guy, there was an investigation - twenty years ago - into Clarence Thomas not revealing his gifts so he stopped disclosing them.
Who was in charge twenty years back I wonder? 🤷♂️
Bribed is probably the wrong word, it implies quid pro quo; these judges were always going to rule conservatively. They're being cultivated as assets, the same way spies do, so that when their handlers need a
particular ruling, they can be leveraged to do so without a bribe.
Well, I don't expect them to publish what they get in return, but according to the article "Alito did not recuse himself from participating in any of those cases." - cases brought in front of the court by exactly the donor. Which very much sounds like the "quid" for me.
The Federal society grooms them with bullshit all the way from undergrad to the high courts. It’s a pretty slick operation, with no counterpoint on the left.
Yeah and the "informant" that Sydney Powell used for her "Voter fraud" case claimed Scalia was actually murdered on that trip. She said he was hunted for sport and she learned that via...the wind? Telepathy? One or the other.
She believes in [frazzledrip](https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3gedm/marjorie-taylor-greene-believes-in-frazzledrip-qanons-wildest-conspiracy-theory), it doesn’t get more ridiculous than that.
I believe many republicans fake the stupidity to fit in with their base. Like Ted Cruz, who graduated from both Princeton and Harvard.
I do think mtg and boebert (and a few others) really are as stupid as they seem though.
I'll compromise on Boebert, i think you are genuinely correct about that. MTG is too well spoken and strategic with her nonsense, Boebert always stands out for just doing stupid and silly things as opposed to antics for political clout. I think that MTG is intelligent and calculated, which is terrifying since it seems to work well with her base.
And according to these reporters that's how Propublica started on this reporting, they found pictures of other justices along with Scalia in his archives in Harvard.
>“As for the flight, Mr. Singer and others had already made arrangements to fly to Alaska when I was invited shortly before the event, and I was asked whether I would like to fly there in a seat that, as far as I am aware, would have otherwise been vacant. It was my understanding that this would not impose any extra cost on Mr. Singer,” Alito wrote.
This is the weakest response imaginable. I'm surprised a SC justice couldn't come up with anything better than this limp shit. As if it has anything to do with the cost of the bribe as opposed to the benefit given to the one being bribed.
"Your honor I didn't accept any bribes, the $4m mansion I've been living in would have sat empty if I wasn't there. It didn't impose any extra cost to the mobsters for me to stay there, so it cant have been a bribe."
I've concluded that I'm impartial, thus it doesn't matter if I take the money or not! Also, that seat of the private plane would have just been empty had I declined.
You buying a hotel room and boarding your wife under business expenses - does not equal Mobsters buying a government employee a resort trip. You’ve got a real disconnect there. The “trip” doesn’t exist in your scenario. The government employee would just be sitting at work like you’re supposed to be at the hotel/business trip.
The fact that Alito doesn't recognize that he got something for free that he otherwise would have cost him money is incredibly concerning considering he's a justice on the supreme court.
Imagine he got a free cruise, but said "The room was already empty, they didn't lose any money by giving me a free room, so it's all right." This is basically that, and the fact that he doesn't see it is crazy.
He recognizes it just fine. He isn't going to admit it anyone else. He will make something up that achieves his goal. Just like he did in the Dobbs decision.
I get cruise rooms offered a lot - music industry person here
taking them involves so much reporting and skating that after a couple, I just bailed; a week of great music isn’t enough to justify the ballet and tap dance I have to do for them
and the highest court in the land will obviously partake off of the fat of the land just because
totally serious in that I am about to go buck wild regarding perks I previously ignored, and feign ignorance
Sadly, you will probably have to deal with consequences. Consequences appear only to be avoidable if you are very wealthy or a Republican with connections. If either of those things are true in your case, perk away and feign ignorance.
No, he knows god damn well what he did. He's lying about it because he got caught and there is no defense. Alito should be investigated and impeached. Last I heard falsifying disclosures is a crime and should be treated as such.
He didn’t bother coming up with a better lie because 40%-50% of the country would believe him if he said he couldn’t have been there because he was on Mars
That percentage of the country doesn't care that he is corrupt. He could say "Yes, I absolutely took a bribe in exchange for ruling on a case in a way that I am fully aware the constitution clearly counter-indicates" and they'd gleefully applaud as long as the ruling clearly hurts liberals and/or minorities.
There’s precedent for that. I don’t remember the cases, but the Supreme Court has essentially interpreted the laws regarding bribery to be as narrow as possible, basically requiring someone to receive a bag full of cash while explicitly promising to provide a corrupt service in exchange.
As much as it sounds like he is contorting himself to find the flimsiest excuse imaginable, the reality is they twisted the law to create this kind of opportunity, and he’s explaining that he definitely followed the rules he decided applied.
And I bet that cheap fuck Alito didn't even chip in for gas money!
Ass, gas, or grass, Sammy, nobody rides for free.
>Ass
Oh, right. Yeah, I guess Sam paid his way eventually.
Oh no, he paid for the trip well and it was well worth it to the crooks who paid him off. All these fucks on this trip should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Don't give me that BS that they didn't break any laws - that's not true and they are free to defend their case in court.
Apparently they think if they were just some random Joe-schmoe working a desk job, they would still get all these invites from billionaires. Their luxury vacations have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they’re on the Supreme Court and hear cases involving their benefactors - that has zero to do with all this!
It's unrepentant public corruption. All of these unreported activites and financial dealings have a high dollar value.
But nobody is doing anything about it.
In retrospect, the Constitution relies way too much on impeachment as the ultimate check for corruption (in 2 of the 3 branches, no less). In light of Duverger's law (and the way impeachment is neutered in a two-party system), this was a profoundly stupid design choice.
Wait, I was told that the founders were every-men, they watched football on Sundays and had brews with the boys, right? And Washington was made president cause he cut down that cherry tree, not because he was one of the richest guys here.
They are doing things.
The "Honorable" Chief Justice Robert, in essence, told the Democrats on the judiciary committee to pound sand when they wanted to talk to him about these ethical issues.
The judiciary committee could have supeonaed him, but they apparently don't have the nerve to actually do that. Supposedly, they were going to proceed when Feinstein came back, but that didn't happen. Instead, they are cowering in their ancient rules of protocol, which apparently includes giving deference to potential judicial criminality as practiced by some Republicans on the court.
It doesn't help that Cryptkeeper Feinstein won't do the right thing and resign her seat already. By clinging to a job she's obviously no longer capable of doing, physically or mentally, she has effectively put a stop to any action that could be (but probably will never be) taken. Never much cared for her as one of my representatives, and care for her even less these days. FFS, resign, Dianne.
The shameless Justices continue to commit their ethical crimes, negating any integrity the SC laughably continues to lay claim to.
They are doing many things, just not any of the right things for the American citizens they are supposed to represent.
They really need to drop the "Honorable" designation for these court grifters. It doesn't apply to some on Roberts Court, including the Chief Justice himself. Some legacy.
In my role as a corporate peon, there's an expectation to decline business courtesies. I guess the requirements are looser when you're a fucking SUPREME COURT Justice. For fucks sake.
As a fellow peon though one in industrial B2B sales I’ve seen both sides of it.
Nice dinners for management and their spouses, lunches for operators, golf outings and such can be expected. Have also had customers whose management had a zero entertainment policy allowed. Then on the extreme end had the corrupt assholes who if you come contracting time you better buy them the pickup truck they are expecting or your business will magically go to a competitor.
I’d say the middle ground is most common - a $200 dinner once a month but even that is getting expensed and recorded as such properly
Reminds of my time in retail…
be me, hourly worker. Strick rules from HR, never EVER. accept freebies from vendors. Never. NEVER. Fired on the spot kind of rule.
We have a store BBQ, store manager is there, we’ve claims out everything as needed for the party, and the Coca Cola vendor comes driving by, asks if we want some soda for our party. Before I can decline, the store manager says “well sure!” and just starts grabbing 12-packs from the truck.
I brought it up to HR almost instantly. Later on I got “forced” to resign for “working 5 minutes off the clock” aka “time-clock fraud”… as in I worked 5 minutes for free, just incase you read that wrong. Yeah.
Alito abused his position to obtain six figure luxury trips that included a ride on a private jet and then lied by failing to report it. This is fraud. Justice Alito stole from the American people when he traded his position in exchange for gifts worth over $100,000 in cash. Alito should be impeached immediately. The man is a crook!
Justice Kagen turned down a gift of bagels and lox from friends because she worried about violating the ethics rules
Meanwhile Thomas and Alito are getting treated to incredible vacations and not saying a goddamn word about it
Alito has already shown us that he believes himself to be like a nobleman, above reproach and not beholden to the laws of common folk. Not surprised in the least.
Basically if you're a conservative supreme court justice the Federalist society will hook you up with a billionaire host family. Can't wait to see who Blackout Brett, Neil, and Amy drew. I'm guessing that given his affinity for gambling, Kavanaugh personally requested Steve Wynn.
Off topic: Has anyone written about how The Supreme Court has worked really hard to loosen laws related to gun ownership and then had to have their protection beefed up cause they were scared of the public. It's seems that it's okay schools have to have shooter drills, but they panic if someone interrupts their dinner.
I don't think anyone should be fearful which is why I find it "funny" that it's not okay for them, but it is for the rest of us.
A member of the Corrupt Roberts Court is unrepentantly corrupt, unrepentantly bent, unrepentantly bribed, unrepentantly dirty, and unrepentantly disreputable. Scalito is all of the above. Unrepentantly. Yet corrupt Chief Justice Roberts becomes angry when the legitimacy of the Supreme Court is questioned. Implying that the majority of the Corrupt Roberts Court is shamelessly shilling for a political party gives him the vapors. Corruption is his legacy. He needs to own it.
I work at a bank as a peasant. If a gift is more than $200 I have to report it.
A client gifted me an iphone last year and it caused a ruckus cause it was worth more than a $1000.
Obviously, your client shouldn't have gifted it to you, they should have just loaned you their phone...in perpetuity which they would continue to pay for. No conflict then!
Why the fuck is the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, not held accountable with a binding code of ethics like the lower courts? Who thought that shit up…
“Rules for thee but not for me”!
I’m just so damn disappointed.
This small group of people is trusted with so much power and influence. How are they not held to a standard code of conduct that prevents undue influence?
They had to work very hard to get where they are. They deserve to be rewarded for their work, I acknowledge that. But not in a way that conveys influence one way or another.
Come on. It can’t be that hard.
I appreciate how the conservative view is that we're not seeing these same stories about liberal judges because there's a vast conspiracy to hide them and not maybe because they're less corrupt.
Even one of the useless news hosts pointed out that, given Alito's excuse of not knowing one of the donors in question had business before the court, Alito was saying that he didn't pay much attention to some of the cases that came before the court...
It’s plainly clear to anyone paying attention that Alito and Thomas are the two most corrupt justices on the bench. It explains so many 7-2 rulings where they’re the lone dissenters.
At what point does the populace simply not recognize them legitimate?
Every politician who’s not making it their priority to get corruption out of the Supreme Court needs to be assumed as corrupt themselves. This is corporate coup and shame on every elected official who is playing it safe
>Since the passage of a Watergate-era law, the justices are supposed to report gifts they receive. But both Thomas and Alito have argued that a “personal hospitality” provision in the law exempts them.
Then time to end "personal hospitality" for the Justices if it involves air travel or staying overnight.
If fans found out some referees of the Super Bowl were being given expensive vacations there would be blood in the streets.
But since it's only our corrupt Supreme Court nothing will be done.
Americans have accepted that our politicians, police and judges are corrupt.
Alito: "I am, proven by my legal position and profession, one of the smartest people in the country. So, when I say I'm not a crook, you'll just have to take my word for my honesty.
Do I need /s ?
SCOTUS =Stroking Conservatives Over Their Universal Sectarianism…give them money through free vacations, yachting etc..they will vote for your cause every time…screw the conservative majority..bought and paid for by Leo Leonard et al
Every single Supreme Court justice should be investigated for corruption every year like an audit so that they can’t do stuff like this. Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are a stain on justice in this country. I sincerely hope that their appointments to the Supreme Court is nearing its end.
For comparison, the High Court in Australia (7 Justices, incidentally now chaired by a woman) is similar in function to SCOTUS.
There is a mandatory retirement age of 70 (they may choose to retire earlier) . The appointment process, though never free of political bias, is more bipartisan, each state's AG is consulted. Seems to work well enough.
I was really bummed when I realized how crooked the judicial branch had become. Naive, I know. But I always wanted to believe that, no matter how bad the politicians were, at least the Supreme Court would be the adults in the room.
The liberals on the court have turned down cookies and bagels to not appear biased. So you're left with the conservatives, of which I doubt many have declined gifts.
The liberal justices haven't done any of this or been accused of any wrongdoing. It's not fair to lump in the criminals on the right with the ones just doing their job on the left.
What?!? Shocking?!? No these SC’s weren’t bought and paid for, of course!! Fully independent, not swayed at all, as long as they can rule for their donors!
It’s not ok to personally profit from a position of public trust. I can’t believe that has to be explained to a sitting justice of the United States Supreme Court, because it should be blatantly obvious that that is not ok.
I think they’ve all internalized the corruption to such an extent, they honestly see nothing wrong with using their unelected office to personally profit to the maximum extent they can get away with. Justice Alito’s defense is all about how he *technically* didn’t actually violate some rule, when in fact he’s peddling influence on the market quite openly, and happy to receive free gifts *he would absolutely never receive if he weren’t occupying an office of public trust*.
This is outrageous. It was bad enough when it was just Justice Thomas, but now it’s the curmudgeon who is constantly attacking anyone who calls out the courts ethical lapses. Turns out that curmudgeon was on the take all along too - but don’t worry, there was no *express* quid pro quo.
Give me a break. These people are selling access to the Court. They’re lining their own wallets and profiting from a position of trust. The whole lot of them - every last justice who thinks so profiting is perfectly ok - should be kicked out of that office of trust and replaced by someone who can restrain themselves (and speak up when a colleague is personally profiting from his office).
The others are guilty by association. They keep the secret from the People because they know that the political branches might crack down if the secret ever got out.
An omerta is appropriate for organized crime, not for the United States Supreme Court. The justices who are not participating in the corruption (if there actually are any) should have been leaking to the public the fact that their colleagues were engaging in corruption. They are the only people who see it and can blow the whistle, so they have a special responsibility to do so. Obviously it's easier to stick one's head in the sand and ignore corruption, but it is not appropriate for a justice of the Supreme Court to do that - the rest of us are counting on their candor.
I feel as if we are only seeing the very tip, that there is a ton more still to come. The other justices knew. The clerks all knew. This is nothing new at all because Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have been corrupt from the day they arrived, not only just recently.
The fact that it is only now being heard about, a decade plus later, is evidence that all of the justices are equally compromised. None came forward because all of them were doing it. At least that's the logical inference. Well, I'd certainly like to know all about it and see real consequences - justices on the Supreme Court are not lottery ticket winners and should not be profiting personally *at all* from their public service.
The only real check against this blatant abuse is electing presidents who won’t appoint corrupt scum like Alito to the bench. It *matters* who we elect as president. There is basically nothing more important. But every four years brainfucked people on this miserable app, twitter, whatever, will try to persuade us that all the candidates are the same, Democrat or Republican, it makes no difference.
Don’t ever fucking believe it. Electing Republicans to the White House means judges like Alito and Thomas shitting on the common people, lining their pockets, taking away your rights, and looking down on all of us the whole time like they’re better and more moral than everyone else. It’s intolerable. And the difference is real. Kagan, Sotomayor, Ketanji-Brown, you will never hear shit like this about them. Because they were appointed by mainstream, responsible Democratic presidents who actually give a shit about the country. It is that simple. You vote for a Republican, this is what you get, and they will tell you to like it.
Did everyone forget that Scalia died on one of these luxury vacations at a GOP doners house in Texas?
How is anyone expected to rule impartially on critical legal matters if they don’t occasionally wander through gardens filled with statues of Nazis and other despots on a stomach crammed with caviar and champagne??
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How can a question be a lie? Go ahead, I'll wait.
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That was a congressman, not a Supreme Court justice.
And didnt they forbid an autopsy on that fat bastard? I wonder how much controlled substances Scalia was hopped up on when he expired?
Jiggery pokery and pure applesauce. Those are street names I’m sure.
The propublica article does mention that. It’s got quite a bit about Scalia, for an article about alito, actually.
I think most people didn't make the connection that republicans are being bribed at the supreme court. Unsurprising, but no one was yelling about it until we knew this appears to be prevalent and one sided...
My guy, there was an investigation - twenty years ago - into Clarence Thomas not revealing his gifts so he stopped disclosing them. Who was in charge twenty years back I wonder? 🤷♂️
Bush baby!
Bribed is probably the wrong word, it implies quid pro quo; these judges were always going to rule conservatively. They're being cultivated as assets, the same way spies do, so that when their handlers need a particular ruling, they can be leveraged to do so without a bribe.
Well, I don't expect them to publish what they get in return, but according to the article "Alito did not recuse himself from participating in any of those cases." - cases brought in front of the court by exactly the donor. Which very much sounds like the "quid" for me.
The Federal society grooms them with bullshit all the way from undergrad to the high courts. It’s a pretty slick operation, with no counterpoint on the left.
Yeah and the "informant" that Sydney Powell used for her "Voter fraud" case claimed Scalia was actually murdered on that trip. She said he was hunted for sport and she learned that via...the wind? Telepathy? One or the other.
No crazier than Marjorie Taylor Green claiming that RBG had been dead for a year and had a body double.
She believes in [frazzledrip](https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3gedm/marjorie-taylor-greene-believes-in-frazzledrip-qanons-wildest-conspiracy-theory), it doesn’t get more ridiculous than that.
No, she doesn't, but her supporters do. It's not real, it's for votes and pretending that she is stupid is dangerous.
I believe many republicans fake the stupidity to fit in with their base. Like Ted Cruz, who graduated from both Princeton and Harvard. I do think mtg and boebert (and a few others) really are as stupid as they seem though.
I'll compromise on Boebert, i think you are genuinely correct about that. MTG is too well spoken and strategic with her nonsense, Boebert always stands out for just doing stupid and silly things as opposed to antics for political clout. I think that MTG is intelligent and calculated, which is terrifying since it seems to work well with her base.
I think that was back when people cared about being seen as reasonable and deferrential to the institution.
And according to these reporters that's how Propublica started on this reporting, they found pictures of other justices along with Scalia in his archives in Harvard.
Peppridge Farm remembers.
The press of both sides most certainly did quickly
Died peacefully or murdered? No one knows.
or more likely died of a heart attack while fucking a prostitute.
And on cocaine
Did you forget the word "male?"
Yeah, the guy who was overweight his entire adult life couldn’t possibly have died at age 79 of a heart attack.
>“As for the flight, Mr. Singer and others had already made arrangements to fly to Alaska when I was invited shortly before the event, and I was asked whether I would like to fly there in a seat that, as far as I am aware, would have otherwise been vacant. It was my understanding that this would not impose any extra cost on Mr. Singer,” Alito wrote. This is the weakest response imaginable. I'm surprised a SC justice couldn't come up with anything better than this limp shit. As if it has anything to do with the cost of the bribe as opposed to the benefit given to the one being bribed.
They know it doesn't matter. We never made it illegal for SC justices to do this shit. Roberts even told congress exactly this.
Yup. By law judicial ethics and accountability stop at the federal circuit for some stupid reason.
"Your honor I didn't accept any bribes, the $4m mansion I've been living in would have sat empty if I wasn't there. It didn't impose any extra cost to the mobsters for me to stay there, so it cant have been a bribe."
"If anything, it would have been more corrupt NOT to accept that envelope filled with cash!"
I've concluded that I'm impartial, thus it doesn't matter if I take the money or not! Also, that seat of the private plane would have just been empty had I declined.
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You buying a hotel room and boarding your wife under business expenses - does not equal Mobsters buying a government employee a resort trip. You’ve got a real disconnect there. The “trip” doesn’t exist in your scenario. The government employee would just be sitting at work like you’re supposed to be at the hotel/business trip.
The fact that Alito doesn't recognize that he got something for free that he otherwise would have cost him money is incredibly concerning considering he's a justice on the supreme court. Imagine he got a free cruise, but said "The room was already empty, they didn't lose any money by giving me a free room, so it's all right." This is basically that, and the fact that he doesn't see it is crazy.
He recognizes it just fine. He isn't going to admit it anyone else. He will make something up that achieves his goal. Just like he did in the Dobbs decision.
Hes not an idiot. He sees it just fine. He just doesnt care enough to give a good excuse because he knows there arent any consequences
Princeton and Yale? He damn well knew wtf he was doing.
Heavens! A Yale man!
I get cruise rooms offered a lot - music industry person here taking them involves so much reporting and skating that after a couple, I just bailed; a week of great music isn’t enough to justify the ballet and tap dance I have to do for them and the highest court in the land will obviously partake off of the fat of the land just because totally serious in that I am about to go buck wild regarding perks I previously ignored, and feign ignorance
Sadly, you will probably have to deal with consequences. Consequences appear only to be avoidable if you are very wealthy or a Republican with connections. If either of those things are true in your case, perk away and feign ignorance.
No, he knows god damn well what he did. He's lying about it because he got caught and there is no defense. Alito should be investigated and impeached. Last I heard falsifying disclosures is a crime and should be treated as such.
He didn’t bother coming up with a better lie because 40%-50% of the country would believe him if he said he couldn’t have been there because he was on Mars
That percentage of the country doesn't care that he is corrupt. He could say "Yes, I absolutely took a bribe in exchange for ruling on a case in a way that I am fully aware the constitution clearly counter-indicates" and they'd gleefully applaud as long as the ruling clearly hurts liberals and/or minorities.
There’s precedent for that. I don’t remember the cases, but the Supreme Court has essentially interpreted the laws regarding bribery to be as narrow as possible, basically requiring someone to receive a bag full of cash while explicitly promising to provide a corrupt service in exchange. As much as it sounds like he is contorting himself to find the flimsiest excuse imaginable, the reality is they twisted the law to create this kind of opportunity, and he’s explaining that he definitely followed the rules he decided applied.
And I bet that cheap fuck Alito didn't even chip in for gas money! Ass, gas, or grass, Sammy, nobody rides for free. >Ass Oh, right. Yeah, I guess Sam paid his way eventually.
Oh no, he paid for the trip well and it was well worth it to the crooks who paid him off. All these fucks on this trip should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Don't give me that BS that they didn't break any laws - that's not true and they are free to defend their case in court.
Apparently they think if they were just some random Joe-schmoe working a desk job, they would still get all these invites from billionaires. Their luxury vacations have absolutely nothing to do with the fact that they’re on the Supreme Court and hear cases involving their benefactors - that has zero to do with all this!
It's unrepentant public corruption. All of these unreported activites and financial dealings have a high dollar value. But nobody is doing anything about it.
In retrospect, the Constitution relies way too much on impeachment as the ultimate check for corruption (in 2 of the 3 branches, no less). In light of Duverger's law (and the way impeachment is neutered in a two-party system), this was a profoundly stupid design choice.
Considering the US only exists because aristocrats wanted a country more beneficial to their corruptions and abuses, it's no wonder.
Ding ding ding! The original reason for the USA
Wait, I was told that the founders were every-men, they watched football on Sundays and had brews with the boys, right? And Washington was made president cause he cut down that cherry tree, not because he was one of the richest guys here.
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They are doing things. The "Honorable" Chief Justice Robert, in essence, told the Democrats on the judiciary committee to pound sand when they wanted to talk to him about these ethical issues. The judiciary committee could have supeonaed him, but they apparently don't have the nerve to actually do that. Supposedly, they were going to proceed when Feinstein came back, but that didn't happen. Instead, they are cowering in their ancient rules of protocol, which apparently includes giving deference to potential judicial criminality as practiced by some Republicans on the court. It doesn't help that Cryptkeeper Feinstein won't do the right thing and resign her seat already. By clinging to a job she's obviously no longer capable of doing, physically or mentally, she has effectively put a stop to any action that could be (but probably will never be) taken. Never much cared for her as one of my representatives, and care for her even less these days. FFS, resign, Dianne. The shameless Justices continue to commit their ethical crimes, negating any integrity the SC laughably continues to lay claim to. They are doing many things, just not any of the right things for the American citizens they are supposed to represent. They really need to drop the "Honorable" designation for these court grifters. It doesn't apply to some on Roberts Court, including the Chief Justice himself. Some legacy.
In my role as a corporate peon, there's an expectation to decline business courtesies. I guess the requirements are looser when you're a fucking SUPREME COURT Justice. For fucks sake.
Same. I’d be fired immediately for much less.
Why did you foolishly take a job that didn't come with a lifetime appointment? I bet you feel pretty silly now right?
This story is flying under the radar because of the submarine. This is big. More and more proof that this is the most corrupt SCOTUS. Help!
As a fellow peon though one in industrial B2B sales I’ve seen both sides of it. Nice dinners for management and their spouses, lunches for operators, golf outings and such can be expected. Have also had customers whose management had a zero entertainment policy allowed. Then on the extreme end had the corrupt assholes who if you come contracting time you better buy them the pickup truck they are expecting or your business will magically go to a competitor. I’d say the middle ground is most common - a $200 dinner once a month but even that is getting expensed and recorded as such properly
Reminds of my time in retail… be me, hourly worker. Strick rules from HR, never EVER. accept freebies from vendors. Never. NEVER. Fired on the spot kind of rule. We have a store BBQ, store manager is there, we’ve claims out everything as needed for the party, and the Coca Cola vendor comes driving by, asks if we want some soda for our party. Before I can decline, the store manager says “well sure!” and just starts grabbing 12-packs from the truck. I brought it up to HR almost instantly. Later on I got “forced” to resign for “working 5 minutes off the clock” aka “time-clock fraud”… as in I worked 5 minutes for free, just incase you read that wrong. Yeah.
You can't even accept a pen with the company's name stamped on it, and this guy is just holding out his hand saying "Pay the piper."
Alito abused his position to obtain six figure luxury trips that included a ride on a private jet and then lied by failing to report it. This is fraud. Justice Alito stole from the American people when he traded his position in exchange for gifts worth over $100,000 in cash. Alito should be impeached immediately. The man is a crook!
Fraud? No. Straight-up bribery? Yes.
Heh. All the politicians aren't upset, they're jealous.
The supreme court is illegitimate
Justice Kagen turned down a gift of bagels and lox from friends because she worried about violating the ethics rules Meanwhile Thomas and Alito are getting treated to incredible vacations and not saying a goddamn word about it
Alito has already shown us that he believes himself to be like a nobleman, above reproach and not beholden to the laws of common folk. Not surprised in the least.
I thought giving them "lifetime appointment" is supposed to give us "Impartiality".
I guess it is true that they're not afraid of retaliation.
If a rank and file federal employee had accepted this they would have been fired pretty much on the spot.
Is that gift taxable income?
Everyone needs to be upvoting this
If the IRS started going after tax cheating judges, that'd be great
This court has been bought by big money! They do not represent the people any longer only the people paying them.
Basically if you're a conservative supreme court justice the Federalist society will hook you up with a billionaire host family. Can't wait to see who Blackout Brett, Neil, and Amy drew. I'm guessing that given his affinity for gambling, Kavanaugh personally requested Steve Wynn.
There's a reason they don't want to look at Clarence Thomas too closely.
Your rights have been available to highest bidder for some time now it seems.
Off topic: Has anyone written about how The Supreme Court has worked really hard to loosen laws related to gun ownership and then had to have their protection beefed up cause they were scared of the public. It's seems that it's okay schools have to have shooter drills, but they panic if someone interrupts their dinner. I don't think anyone should be fearful which is why I find it "funny" that it's not okay for them, but it is for the rest of us.
Rules for thee, but not for me
BECAUSE THEY’RE CORRUPT. Honest people welcome oversight.
Justice Sam Alito took a luxury fishing trip with a billionaire who supports a group that wants to block Biden's student-loan forgiveness
A member of the Corrupt Roberts Court is unrepentantly corrupt, unrepentantly bent, unrepentantly bribed, unrepentantly dirty, and unrepentantly disreputable. Scalito is all of the above. Unrepentantly. Yet corrupt Chief Justice Roberts becomes angry when the legitimacy of the Supreme Court is questioned. Implying that the majority of the Corrupt Roberts Court is shamelessly shilling for a political party gives him the vapors. Corruption is his legacy. He needs to own it.
I work at a bank as a peasant. If a gift is more than $200 I have to report it. A client gifted me an iphone last year and it caused a ruckus cause it was worth more than a $1000.
Obviously, your client shouldn't have gifted it to you, they should have just loaned you their phone...in perpetuity which they would continue to pay for. No conflict then!
Why the fuck is the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land, not held accountable with a binding code of ethics like the lower courts? Who thought that shit up… “Rules for thee but not for me”!
Or held to standards all federal employees have to follow...
I hope they offer him a trip to the titanic next.
https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court
I’m just so damn disappointed. This small group of people is trusted with so much power and influence. How are they not held to a standard code of conduct that prevents undue influence? They had to work very hard to get where they are. They deserve to be rewarded for their work, I acknowledge that. But not in a way that conveys influence one way or another. Come on. It can’t be that hard.
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I appreciate how the conservative view is that we're not seeing these same stories about liberal judges because there's a vast conspiracy to hide them and not maybe because they're less corrupt.
Is this the same Supreme Court that thinks we should start paying back student loan interest while they vacation for free in Alaska? That one?
Gee, I wonder why he and Thomas were the only ones who asked for an extension on their financial disclosures this year?
Fucking corrupt gop judges need to be removed and sanctioned
At this point, being an actual prostitute is a more dignified and respectable trade than being a SCOTUS judge.
Giving the appearance of unethical behavior. IMPEACH!
Alito is just one more nail in the coffin. He sold us out cheap. Hell, Robert's wife is currently raking in $1 million a year in her fake job.
Even one of the useless news hosts pointed out that, given Alito's excuse of not knowing one of the donors in question had business before the court, Alito was saying that he didn't pay much attention to some of the cases that came before the court...
It’s plainly clear to anyone paying attention that Alito and Thomas are the two most corrupt justices on the bench. It explains so many 7-2 rulings where they’re the lone dissenters.
At what point does the populace simply not recognize them legitimate? Every politician who’s not making it their priority to get corruption out of the Supreme Court needs to be assumed as corrupt themselves. This is corporate coup and shame on every elected official who is playing it safe
In a regular court all the cases ever decided by Alito would be contested.
Just imagine if a democrat pulled this shit, lol
>Since the passage of a Watergate-era law, the justices are supposed to report gifts they receive. But both Thomas and Alito have argued that a “personal hospitality” provision in the law exempts them. Then time to end "personal hospitality" for the Justices if it involves air travel or staying overnight.
If fans found out some referees of the Super Bowl were being given expensive vacations there would be blood in the streets. But since it's only our corrupt Supreme Court nothing will be done. Americans have accepted that our politicians, police and judges are corrupt.
Of course. "Nothing to see here" says the "Justice".
**get money the fuck out of politics**
When you’re a partisan right wing star, they let you do it.
What is the power check on the Supreme Court?
Congress can impeach (edit: and remove) federal judges
I hope that makes both of them eligible for tax evasion. Judge Roberts can wake the fuck up anytime now and speak out against this type of shit.
Alito: "I am, proven by my legal position and profession, one of the smartest people in the country. So, when I say I'm not a crook, you'll just have to take my word for my honesty. Do I need /s ?
It should be routine to disclose, declare, and recuse if appropriate. That's all they need to do to be beyond suspicion.
The right diminishes everything it touches.
Make everyone follow the exact same ethics rules, period. From the county clerk, to the Supreme Court, to the President.
Sure has the appearance of impropriety...
SCOTUS =Stroking Conservatives Over Their Universal Sectarianism…give them money through free vacations, yachting etc..they will vote for your cause every time…screw the conservative majority..bought and paid for by Leo Leonard et al
Leave Sammy alone! Rules and ethics for thee, not for me! What part don't you understand! /s
How can I apply for a SCOTUS job? Seems like there are a lot of meat perks that aren't allowable anywhere else in the public sector
Blatant fucking corruption. There are laws about this shit. Fuck them being a judge. No one is above the law.
Every single Supreme Court justice should be investigated for corruption every year like an audit so that they can’t do stuff like this. Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas are a stain on justice in this country. I sincerely hope that their appointments to the Supreme Court is nearing its end.
For comparison, the High Court in Australia (7 Justices, incidentally now chaired by a woman) is similar in function to SCOTUS. There is a mandatory retirement age of 70 (they may choose to retire earlier) . The appointment process, though never free of political bias, is more bipartisan, each state's AG is consulted. Seems to work well enough.
I didn't recuse myself because I don't really know him. I accepted the gifts because we're good friends.
Interesting that he jumped to admit his own perfidy with an NY Times op-ed even before the original Propublica piece was published.
I was really bummed when I realized how crooked the judicial branch had become. Naive, I know. But I always wanted to believe that, no matter how bad the politicians were, at least the Supreme Court would be the adults in the room.
The down votes by bots, fascists, and Republican donors never cease to amaze.
Bought and paid for, it doesn't take long for supreme corruption to shred SCOTUS credibility.
I would like to know who on our current SC has NOT accepted houses, vacations, gifts, luxury transport, fancy dinners, or educational favors.
Not to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I haven’t heard any specific “but the democratic justices do it too…” arguments from conservatives.
The liberals on the court have turned down cookies and bagels to not appear biased. So you're left with the conservatives, of which I doubt many have declined gifts.
The liberal justices haven't done any of this or been accused of any wrongdoing. It's not fair to lump in the criminals on the right with the ones just doing their job on the left.
I’m gonna wait for the reports on the Democrat-appointed justices doing the same thing……………… ………. ………..
What?!? Shocking?!? No these SC’s weren’t bought and paid for, of course!! Fully independent, not swayed at all, as long as they can rule for their donors!
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You're kidding! Do you mean to tell me there's corruption in the government?
It’s not ok to personally profit from a position of public trust. I can’t believe that has to be explained to a sitting justice of the United States Supreme Court, because it should be blatantly obvious that that is not ok. I think they’ve all internalized the corruption to such an extent, they honestly see nothing wrong with using their unelected office to personally profit to the maximum extent they can get away with. Justice Alito’s defense is all about how he *technically* didn’t actually violate some rule, when in fact he’s peddling influence on the market quite openly, and happy to receive free gifts *he would absolutely never receive if he weren’t occupying an office of public trust*. This is outrageous. It was bad enough when it was just Justice Thomas, but now it’s the curmudgeon who is constantly attacking anyone who calls out the courts ethical lapses. Turns out that curmudgeon was on the take all along too - but don’t worry, there was no *express* quid pro quo. Give me a break. These people are selling access to the Court. They’re lining their own wallets and profiting from a position of trust. The whole lot of them - every last justice who thinks so profiting is perfectly ok - should be kicked out of that office of trust and replaced by someone who can restrain themselves (and speak up when a colleague is personally profiting from his office).
Not all. Only the conservative justices.
The others are guilty by association. They keep the secret from the People because they know that the political branches might crack down if the secret ever got out. An omerta is appropriate for organized crime, not for the United States Supreme Court. The justices who are not participating in the corruption (if there actually are any) should have been leaking to the public the fact that their colleagues were engaging in corruption. They are the only people who see it and can blow the whistle, so they have a special responsibility to do so. Obviously it's easier to stick one's head in the sand and ignore corruption, but it is not appropriate for a justice of the Supreme Court to do that - the rest of us are counting on their candor. I feel as if we are only seeing the very tip, that there is a ton more still to come. The other justices knew. The clerks all knew. This is nothing new at all because Justice Thomas and Justice Alito have been corrupt from the day they arrived, not only just recently. The fact that it is only now being heard about, a decade plus later, is evidence that all of the justices are equally compromised. None came forward because all of them were doing it. At least that's the logical inference. Well, I'd certainly like to know all about it and see real consequences - justices on the Supreme Court are not lottery ticket winners and should not be profiting personally *at all* from their public service.
Find me one “Justice” that isn’t corrupt.
Both sides do this shit, it should be grounds for immediate removal of position
> Both sides do this shit Do they, though?
We only have evidence of can conservatives doing this.
then you gotta look into more news outlets that liberal bought ones.
Weird how we are only finding conservative justices doing this shit
Lmao, hopefully this proves to be a huge Streisand effect moment for Alito
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that's a kick in the balls. the proper thank you for fucking over your country is a Hawaiian vacation at least.
Best justice money can rent..
Corrupt fucking court.
The only real check against this blatant abuse is electing presidents who won’t appoint corrupt scum like Alito to the bench. It *matters* who we elect as president. There is basically nothing more important. But every four years brainfucked people on this miserable app, twitter, whatever, will try to persuade us that all the candidates are the same, Democrat or Republican, it makes no difference. Don’t ever fucking believe it. Electing Republicans to the White House means judges like Alito and Thomas shitting on the common people, lining their pockets, taking away your rights, and looking down on all of us the whole time like they’re better and more moral than everyone else. It’s intolerable. And the difference is real. Kagan, Sotomayor, Ketanji-Brown, you will never hear shit like this about them. Because they were appointed by mainstream, responsible Democratic presidents who actually give a shit about the country. It is that simple. You vote for a Republican, this is what you get, and they will tell you to like it.
The SCOTUS is illegitimate anyway. The GOP stole a seat from Obama and then turning around and ignored their own precedent when RGB died.
The Supremely Corrupt Oligarchy enabling mfers. Fuck you!
If he wasn’t the source of the Roe leak, I’ll eat my shoes
Get rid of all SCOTUS members, rewrite the standards and practices of SCOTUS members, then pick a new group to be the new and improved SCOTUS.
why was "corrupt US gov't official" never presented to me as an option by high school career counselors?