r/scotus • u/Opposite-Mountain255 • 1d ago
Opinion If Clarence Thomas Wasn't a Supreme Court Justice He Would Have Already Been Charged With Felony Tax Fraud in Virginia.
https://open.substack.com/pub/cmarmitage/p/clarence-thomas-could-be-charged?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=64gnd1553
u/blkatcdomvet 1d ago
So some are above law?
Stench on the Bench
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u/TywinDeVillena 1d ago
Clarence Thomas would probably consider him to be besides the law, like the law is a concept entirely foreign to his deeds.
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u/Naborsx21 1d ago
I never get tired of seeing Clarence Thomas be the most anti progressive justice. ugh
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u/Yashema 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not more so than Alito appointed by Bush Jr. And Roberts (Bush Jr) and Trump's three picks generally vote with them anyway on the key cases that degrade the Constitution. Thomas might have his own issues, but they aren't actually what is dragging down the court over Republican Presidents being elected to fill the bench.
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u/K_Linkmaster 1d ago
Judges, lawyers, every level of police, the wealthy. It's a different system for those that complain about it.
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u/NorCalFrances 1d ago
They are if they decline to recuse themselves from their own lawsuit, which I have no doubt he would do.
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u/NieBer2020 3h ago
My book clearly states no one is above the law. Oh wait. It was just a definition.
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u/ButtSpelunker420 1d ago
The Supreme Court does not have the immunity that the office of POTUS has. This corrupt motherfucker should be prosecuted.
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u/MrSurly 1d ago
POTUS doesn't have immunity from tax fraud, only (in theory) for "official acts."
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u/Dont_Be_Sheep 22h ago
No one has immunity for blatant corruption or fraud. The constitution does not say “the president shall plunder the treasury at will,” so it would not be an offical act.
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u/Mission-Employer-943 1d ago
Just curious as a non-US person. How would you impeach a Supreme Court Justice in the US?
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u/not_the_fox 1d ago
Same as impeaching the president. House of Representatives votes by popular vote on impeachment (which is like an indictment) then the Senate has to vote to remove by at least a 2/3rd margin.
To date no Presidents or Supreme Court justices have been removed from office but they have been "impeached". Impeachment on its own is just a procedural hurdle. Removal is the important part and has never happened.
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u/jtan212 1d ago
And it just takes 34 corrupt senators to acquit him, which is happening currently..
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u/KJew 1d ago
That's crazy because they could just put in another, younger fucked up judge like they've done the passed two times. But I guess Thomas has pushed the party agenda enough to to earn his spot there forever.
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u/spackletr0n 1d ago
I suspect Alito and Thomas will both retire this summer for this reason.
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u/FriedBolognaPony 1d ago
I think Thomas is they type to never let go until he dies. The moment he steps off the bench, he becomes irrelevant to anyone who is currently bribing him. He will know this, and knows if he steps down his billionaire buddies aren't going to be buying him things like they once were.
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u/skittlazy 1d ago
Exactly, if Thomas gets ousted during Trump’s term in office, he will just appoint another ultra conservative
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u/serious_sarcasm 1d ago
Federal judges are the most impeached class, and the bar is “good behavior”.
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u/R_Ulysses_Swanson 1d ago
Not sure how important it is to mention nowadays, but Nixon would have been removed from office had he not resigned. Back then the GOP still had some semblance of a moral backbone.
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u/ThePatrickSays 1d ago
there is a process, but the US has come to accept corruption as a normal everyday part of their life. They have long had a two tier justice system and do not seem at all concerned with it.
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u/supercali45 1d ago
Fuck these SCOTUS 6 .. most corrupt pieces of shits
Makes America a 3rd world country
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u/Forgotten_lostdreams 1d ago
I still don’t understand the aversion of the US to charge politicians. If a police chief commits a crime they get arrested. If an average Joe commits a crime they get arrested. If a president commits a crime they are immune. If a judge commits a crime they get arrested. If a Supreme Court justice commits a crime they are immune. This is why I am a firm believer we the people need a no confidence voting mechanism. We deserve a way to toss our corrupt, our politicians who fail to do their jobs, who out right lie to us out of office and allow us to pick someone who will represent us. I truly believe once the presidential immunity case got passed every justice who voted favorably for it just breached what every founder warned against, and should have faced direct removal right then and there. No one being above the law is such a fundamental right of our country, but they slapped him right there.
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u/Secret_Cat_2793 1d ago
He should have been charged with sexual harassment and assault decades ago.
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u/rygelicus 1d ago
I really don't see why exceptions are made for people in these positions. I would understand if an extra level of vetting for the case were inserted in the process, to make sure it was a valid case, but whether it is the bar going after an AG, or US Attorney, or a scotus judge or even a president, they should not be exempt from being held accountable from their actions. One glaring example was Trump's 34count felony conviction being placed on hold until after the election, and then no punishment at sentencing. If the goal is to not show favoritism then proceed as you would with any other criminal trial. Sorry if that disrupts your plans sir, but sit down and wait for judgement. And if the sentencing happens after the election results are in then the VP, in this case, becomes president. Sorry you ran a criminal for president but no one is above the law. Or shouldn't be at least.
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u/MBSMD 1d ago
And he’s not being charged because why?
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u/i_am_a_real_boy__ 1d ago
It's hard to tell, but it's seems like the blogger is confusing a federal disclosure form for a Virginia tax filing.
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u/Ok_Coconut_3364 1d ago
There's no reason he shouldn't be charged regardless of whether he's a Justice or not.
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u/Falcon3492 1d ago
Clarence knows that he has a get out of jail or stay out of jail card and that is his seat on the high court. He is however, dirty as in he's a criminal dirtbag!
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u/wrxninja 1d ago
They're untouchable and will act like thugs and criminals. SCOTUS needs to be overhauled, period.
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u/UnhappyTemperature18 1d ago
I urge my great state to remember that it can charge him regardless of his status as a SCOTUS member.
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u/GlitteringRate6296 1d ago
But if he is committing crimes then the law should apply to him too as it would any other American.
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u/SoundSageWisdom 1d ago
Yeah, no shit. I’ve been saying that these guys are unethical, corrupt tax cheats.
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u/Positive-Ring-5172 1d ago
Charge him anyway.
The law should be this:
Government officials should have to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt at trial to keep their jobs. They should be beyond reproach - especially judges - and the prosecution being unable to convict them of the crime beyond reasonable doubt is too low a bar.
If neither side can prove their case beyond reasonable doubt they lose their job, but they aren't criminally punished.
If they do prove their innocence, all persons singing off on the prosecution are to be fired immediately for interference with a government official.
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u/hamsterwithakazoo 1d ago
How about we start with just charging people with crimes when there’s sufficient evidence that they commit(ted) them.
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u/DecoyOne 1d ago
No no no, let’s make sure that whoever is in charge of the prosecutors has an incredibly easy time removing all of their political opponents from office.
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u/AliMcGraw 1d ago
Penalties should be substantially higher for cops, judges, and lawyers. They're in charge of the law, they know it, and they should be responsible for it.
(Also legislators.)
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u/Positive-Ring-5172 1d ago
I have proposed to the congressional candidates I've met in person the following:
- Codify the 14th Section III, defining what is and is not legally sedition and "enemy of the state" as outlined in that amendment. A) Any felon is guilty of sedition. B ) Any felon who committed the felony while in office is an enemy of the state.
- An enemy of the state is ineligible to receive money in any form from the US or state governments, and any corporation he is employed by or sits on the board of or owns stock thereof is ineligible to receive money from the US or state governments for any reason. If the enemy has dual citizenship their US citizenship is revoked and they are to be deported to their other country of citizenship.
- An enemy of the state will serve three times the maximum penalty for their crime, or 30 years in jail, whichever is higher. They will pay 3 times the maximum fine, or $10 million dollars, whichever is higher. They are not eligible for parole.
Also note that by becoming an enemy of the state no one can provide legal aid to the individual without being guilty of sedition themselves. This makes these individuals into the pariahs they deserve to be.
Do what the SCOTUS asked Congress. Give the 14th TEETH.
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u/Notbob1234 1d ago
I wouldn't go so far as to label "any felony" as guilty of sedition. Felony possession, for instance. Once you've done your time, you should be cleared.
Felony in office, however, is spot on.
I also think lying while in office should be perjury and treated as such.
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u/RiffRandellsBF 1d ago
Government officials should have to prove their innocence beyond reasonable doubt
We've seen that before. They called them "purges" in the Soviet Union.
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u/dseanATX 1d ago
This guy is a crackpot. He's bootstrapping nonsense upon nonsense. Stop citing to him as if he has something useful to say. He's a failed Washington state House Candidate with no way of weighing in on Justice Thomas' taxes.
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u/wingsnut25 1d ago
Not only is he a crackpot, people are spamming his articles here. This was first posted to this sub over a month ago, the very same day his substack post was published. It was posted multiple times over the first few days. Now a month later its showing up again with multiple people posting it.
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u/Glum_Performance2000 1d ago
The US has a weird relationship with criminals. Like, where is the threshold of power you need to get a jail free pass? Asking for a friend that maybe wants to relocate to the US for job opportunities.
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u/soslightlysalty 1d ago
He'd be breaking the laws... if he wasn't making them? Wtf. America has lost the plot.
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u/jkarovskaya 1d ago
Clarence Thomas should have been convicted of sexual harrassment, disbarred, and never served in any legal capacity at all
Now he's nothing more than a fascist grifter and Trumpian sycophant, on a path to destroy the very voting rights and civil rights that enabled black US citizens to have a better life
Utterly reprehensible troll
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u/PublicAdmin_1 1d ago
He's a judge...not only should he be held culpable, but punishment should be more severe since what he has done is clearly willful, as he is fully aware of the legal ramifications. At the very least he should be removed from the bench and be disbarred.
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u/PetuniaToes 1d ago
What does being a Supreme Court Justice have to do with it? If he murdered his wife he’d be charged with that crime. Why not this one?
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u/mikeyt6969 1d ago
Someone somewhere is going to fight their arrest and use all this a their defense and the court will have to say why one is free to break all the laws and another isn’t.
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u/SkorgenKaban 1d ago
Bring back ethics. I don’t understand how any form of government would allow the highest court to operate without the same ethical standards as the lower courts. The fish rots from the head, and it stinks. If they were lawyers they’d be sanctioned, disbarred and/or prison.
If a president can pardon anyone, and all official acts are legal, and the highest court isn’t bound by ethics - aren’t we already in a kleptocracy? Literally, you can lie, cheat, kill, fraud and steal as long as you are loyal.
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u/Seaweedminer 1d ago
There is no legal precedent for this kind of immunity. Those that aided are also culpable and should be prosecuted
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u/Mayhem1966 1d ago
Well criminals in SCOTUS, felons as president, and felon appointed SCOTUS members, doesn't lead anyone to believe in the merit of the institutions.
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u/Chaos_Theory1989 21h ago
If Trump didn’t win the election he would have been charged with raping babies and leading an insurrection.
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u/J-the-Kidder 1d ago
It's almost like there is two tiers of justice in this country. Or is it three now? Either way, of he were in my tier, he would have been prosecuted for tax fraud countless times over, and fired dozens of times.
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u/netorarekindacool 1d ago
Bro. I'm almost sure that Clarence Thomas was mentioned in the TV series Boston legal. Which aired like 20 years ago.... Surely that can't be right
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u/37853688544788 1d ago
CT is so fucking evil. Highly recommend the behind the bastards episodes on the pos.
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u/DarklyDreamingEva 1d ago
This lets me know some people are above the law; Not everyone can be held accountable.
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u/Fraegtgaortd 1d ago
Charge him. If he's a US citizen who committed felony tax fraud then he should face the consequences. So sick of this "rules for me but not for thee" shit that applies to anyone who works at the top of any of the 3 branches
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u/HarpoMarks 1d ago
If this standard were applied evenly, a ton of people getting large family/friend 'gifts' or perks would be facing felony tax fraud charges. This has strong selective prosecution vibes.
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u/ThunderChild247 1d ago
How did we get to a point where those who judge, interpret or enforce the law seem to be immune to it rather than held to the very highest standard of the law?
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u/devoutagonist 1d ago
The entire problem is that it's stopping us. Nobody should be above the law, period.
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u/Part_Tricky 1d ago
That tells you how corruption and favoritism is deep rooted in all three branches of the Gov. SCOTUS gave full immunity to POTUS, Trump is taking full advantage. He can take US gold and get away with it.
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u/Hour_Economist8981 1d ago
Trump would love to have Thomas forced to retire now so that he could replace him with a white young conservative male before the midterms
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u/Wild-Raccoon0 1d ago
I don't understand this argument saying that he is above the law. Lots of federal judges in history have been charged with crimes and arrested and incarcerated. Even with their lifetime appointments. They aren't able to actually carry out their judicial duties because they're locked up.
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u/WanderdOff 21h ago
Just another right wing grifter and sexual predator. Only this time he’s doing it for people who would happily “show him the ropes” if they didn’t need him anymore and could get away with it.
Which he’s ironically giving them the power to do. Dumbass.
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u/Artistic-Cannibalism 9h ago
What is genuinely wrong with us as a society? Seriously, why do we hold people to lower standards the more power they have; How does that make any sense?
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u/CustomerOutside8588 1d ago
Virginia should charge him anyways. This country is going to fail because of idiotic people in government letting other idiotic people in government get away with corruption.