Many Democrats suggested that if ethics within the judicial system were a true concern, the Oversight Committee should prioritize investigating recent ethical scandals at the Supreme Court. These scandals involved accusations of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito receiving lavish personal gifts from influential billionaires without disclosure.
Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University, the sole witness invited by the committee’s Democratic minority, supported this stance. She noted, “While ethics issues do arise in the context of litigation funding, in my professional opinion, they are nowhere near the top of the list of significant ethics concerns facing our courts.”
Congress Litigation Ethics :A Tale of Two Parties
With the curtains closing on Wednesday’s gripping hearing, partisan battle lines remained sharply drawn. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., the committee’s ranking Democrat, characterized the Republican focus as “surprising and bizarre.” He quipped, “The real problem is that giant corporations are harmed when Americans injured by toxic torts or environmental crimes receive contributions from donors to help them bring personal injury or class action lawsuits.”
