Capito: Ethics rules needed for Supreme Court
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WASHINGTON -- Congress could eventually get involved in ethics requirements for Supreme Court justices in the aftermath of the Clarence Thomas revelations, according to a U.S. senator from West Virginia.
The court sets its own rules, so the issue of transparency has not been properly addressed, said U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.
"Transparency in all of these issues is absolutely critical," Capito said during a Thursday afternoon press conference with West Virginia reporters from her office in Washington, D.C.
First breaking in Pro Publica, national media have reported Justice Clarence Thomas over the years has accepted gifts from a billionaire friend, Harlan Crow, including luxury trips on a yacht and private jet, but never disclosed the gifts.
CNN is reporting Thomas will amend financial disclosures to include a 2014 real estate transaction with Crow where Crow bought three Georgia properties owned by Thomas, including the house where Thomas' mother, Leola Williams, 94, lives. Crow remodeled the home and she lives there for free.
Capito pointed out nothing is known about what other judges on the court may have done. Congress may get involved, but it could ultimately be a separation of powers issue with the Supreme Court policing itself, Capito said.
The senator didn't comment on the appropriateness of what Thomas did.
"I'm going to stay out of that right now," she said.
Capito, a Republican, also said she intends to vote against the confirmation of Julie Su, President Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of the Department of Labor. Previous to becoming the No. 2 person at the Labor Department, Su was secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency in California where there was $30 billion in fraudulent unemployment insurance payments during the pandemic, Capito said.
"She obviously can't manage," Capito said.
Su also is opposed by a number of groups in West Virginia, Capito said.
"A broad swath of West Virginians who believe Julie Su, if she should become Secretary of Labor, would be detrimental to the working public," Capito said.
In other business, the senator said she supports a tax relief credit that would be reinstated, the Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization, in the American Investment in Manufacturing Act which she and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., have introduced.
On the deliberations to raise the debt ceiling, the country can't default on its obligations, but spending at the same time must be reined in, Capito said. She urged the president to negotiate with the House Republicans' proposal.
"I think the president needs to get back to the table to find a way to not default," she said.
Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.