Bruce Green, professor of law and director of the Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics at Fordham Law, spoke with Newsweek about the likelihood of Attorney General Merrick Garland appointing a special counsel to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. This comes after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced an article of impeachment against Thomas on July 10 and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Ron Wyden announced on July 9 that they are seeking a criminal investigation into allegations that Thomas failed to disclose gifts, luxury travel, a loan for a luxury motor coach, and other benefits from wealthy friends.
The lawmakers “provide a strong case on the facts for opening a criminal investigation of Justice Thomas,” Bruce Green, a professor at Fordham Law School and the director of the school’s Louis Stein Center for Law and Ethics, told Newsweek. “And, of course, allegations of criminal and ethical misconduct by a Justice should be taken seriously, because they erode the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.”
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But Garland is unlikely to appoint a special counsel, Green said, because if he did so, he would face accusations of weaponizing prosecutorial power in the months leading up to a presidential election.
“That would undermine public respect for the legitimacy of the Department of Justice,” he added. “The Attorney General is unlikely to risk the legitimacy of his own institution to protect the legitimacy of the Supreme Court. He will leave it to Chief Justice Roberts and the other justices to keep their house in order.”
Read “Why Clarence Thomas Investigation Is Unlikely To Happen” in Newsweek.