By Carol Lucas
I wish I had $10 for every time, as of late, I have heard someone utter the words, “No one is above the law.” I want to believe this is true, but when I see what is happening, or better yet, not happening with regard to Clarence Thomas who occupies a seat on the highest court of the land, I am hard pressed to accept this cliche.
Before I get to the crux of Justice Thomas’ documented jousting with the law, I think we need to ask, “What makes the Supreme Court sanctum sanctorum? Why is there no oversight on that body that is supposedly the bastion for rendering the final verdict on any case, criminal or otherwise, should a case reach that level?”
Lest we think that Clarence Thomas’ misdeeds are limited to his present failure to report monetary acquisitions, let’s go back to his nomination to the Supreme Court. It was Anita Hill, a 35-year-old lawyer and assistant to Thomas who decided to testify at his confirmation hearing regarding the consistent sexual harassment she endured while working for the judge.
In Hill’s testimony she stated that Thomas repeatedly asked her to go out socially, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. She went on to testify that he would talk about sex and pornography, women having sex with animals and his own sexual prowess. Thomas responded, calling her testimony a “high-tech lynching.”
It might be added here that then Senator Joe Biden was chair of this committee and in leading the questioning, it is assuredly an understatement to say this wasn’t his finest hour. That he has since apologized to her doesn’t make his performance any better. Nor, does it seem that legislators learned much from this shameful episode in our history when you recall that the same kind of arrogance dealing with the same allegations against Brett Kavanaugh brought this man onto the court.
Right now, what is facing Clarence Thomas, and might I add Chief Justice John Roberts for his failure to act, is a list of transgressions that may or may not prove to be Thomas’ downfall. Let’s go back to the actions of his wife Ginny, and her close alliance with and constant communication to those involved with the January 6 insurrection. Emails prove her activity in trying to influence those in government to overturn the election. Yet Thomas, when asked to recuse himself from decisions related to this, refused to do so, saying that he and his wife never discussed the issues at hand.
The violations by Thomas of ethical norms seem to expand on a daily basis. Harlan Crow has been called a “billionaire conservative benefactor.” For every benefactor there is a beneficiary, and it would appear that Clarence Thomas, Justice of the Supreme Court, fits the description. First it was undisclosed perks such as trips on private jets to catch a ride on a luxury yacht. Evidently this occurred several times over the past decades.
Most recently, it came out that a property sale of $133,000, practically in our backyard (Savannah) was also undisclosed. This sale included quite a few upgrades to the property where Thomas’ mother now resides. Thomas has come out and said he was “ill-advised” regarding the trips, and that he “didn’t understand” the language of the agreement regarding the property. Really, Sir? You are a man of law on the highest court in our country, and you don’t understand? Should we then conclude, Justice Thomas, that you lack the competence necessary to fulfill your duties? If so, then I believe that you either have to resign or be removed from your position.
And so I contend that the total lack of a moral core that seems to have our government in a stranglehold, extends all the way up to the Supreme Court. Furthermore, it would appear that court isn’t so supreme anymore. Strict Constitutionalists will cry out that this is what the forefathers wanted and so should it remain as it is. And I would respond to those folks in this way: those same craftsmen of our Constitution never had to consider a pubic hair on a Coke can or free flights on private jets and vacations around the world on a yacht. Our founders believed in ethics and morals. Let’s not demean that truth by ignoring the corruption that exists today.
Carol Lucas is a retired high school teacher and a Lady’s Island resident. She is the author of the recently published “A Breath Away: One Woman’s Journey Through Widowhood.”
