Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee referred to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s report on ProPublica donors during a Senate Judiciary Committee review of a Democratic-backed bill that would force an ethics code on the Supreme Court.
ProPublica, which has published multiple articles over the past few months alleging conservative judges have violated its ethics code, shares several donors with groups seeking to resign or investigate Judge Clarence Thomas, a review of tax documents by the Daily Caller News Foundation revealed in June. Lee elaborated on these connections Wednesday in Democratic Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s markup on Supreme Court Ethics, Challenges, and Transparency (SCERT). activityThe bill would require judges to implement a code of ethics, strengthen disclosure and challenge requirements, and establish a process for reviewing and investigating complaints against judges.
“You see, I have colleagues on this committee, colleagues on the Democratic side. They like to talk a lot about black money, right-wing black money,” Lee said. “But let me tell you a little bit about how the liberal dark finance is funding the activist hits that underlie this bill and those activist hits that the Left recognizes its need for—that is, the activist hits written by ProPublica. At the same time, they are also funding the activist groups seeking court preparation and support for this bill, and they are pushing this bill openly, aggressively, aggressively.” (Related: Major ProPublica Donor Funds Activist Group Targeting Judge Clarence Thomas)
The Sandler Foundation, which launched ProPublica in 2007, is the outlet’s largest donor, giving more than $40 million since 2010, but has donated more than $7.5 million to the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) since 2015 and more than $6 million to the American Constitutional Association (ACS) since 2010, according to a DCNF tax return review.
ProPublica’s initial report alleges that Thomas violated the Code of Ethics by not disclosing the trip he accepted from billionaire friend Harlan Crow, citing experts from both CLC and ACS, including CLC Senior Director of Ethics Kedrick Payne and former federal judge Nancy Gartner, a board member of ACS.
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