US Talks Free Luxury Vacation for Judge
The Internet news site ProPublica leveled a similar allegation about another member of the court after Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ debate on luxury travel, which was hotly debated in the country.
According to the site, Judge Alito, who is also a major contributor to the Republican Party, went fishing in 2008 on billionaire Paul Singer’s private plane, stayed at the businessman’s resort, and did not disclose this luxury trip in his financial statement. annual. .
“Judge Alito, if he had chartered the plane himself, the cost could have exceeded $100,000 each way,” ProPublica said. he wrote.
Billionaire Singer reportedly went to the Supreme Court at least 10 times after this trip to intervene in a case involving him, and Judge Alito did not withdraw from the case in the process despite ethical practice.
In 2014, the court ruled 7-1 in Singer’s favor in the decades-long lawsuit between Singer’s investment fund and Argentina, resulting in the investment fund receiving a payment of $2.4 billion.
ALITO’S RESPONSE BEFORE PUBLISHING THE NEWS
Hours before ProPublica posted the story online last night, Judge Alito wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) in response to the “ethical impropriety” allegations against him.
Although he admitted that he met the billionaire Singer, Alito argued that they did not have a close relationship “except for a few short conversations” during the fishing trip 15 years ago, so the accusations against him “are not valid.”
For travel “I was allowed to take a seat that would normally be vacant on a private jet to Alaska.” Using the expression, Alito argued that the private plane did not cost Singer any additional cost, and that if he flew commercially, it would cause significant expense and inconvenience to police for his safety.
Alito claimed that he and Singer did not discuss business activities or lawsuits anywhere, writing that Singer was not mentioned in the lawsuit between Argentina and Singer’s company, NML Capital.
While ProPublica noted that there was extensive news coverage in the US media of the case involving Singer at the time, it also released photos showing Alito and Singer together at many events in addition to their trip to Alaska.
ETHICAL DISCUSSIONS IN THE UNITED STATES JUDICIARY
The April 6 ProPublica article, when US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that he took free luxury vacations by taking advantage of the opportunities of prominent billionaire GOP donor, Dallas businessman Harlan Crow, provoked a discussion on “ethical issues in the justice system”. “
In the news it was said that Thomas had traveled many times across the country and abroad in Crow’s private plane over 20 years, used his luxury yacht, and did not register any of them.
As congressional Democrats reacted to Thomas and called for judicial reform, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the need for ethical rules binding on members of the Supreme Court.
In the US, federal law requires top officials, including the Supreme Court, to complete annual forms detailing their finances, outside income, and sources of income for spouses, with each branch setting its own reporting standards. (AA)