U.S. Supreme Court's disrepute grows after new allegations

Washington, Jun 22 (RHC) The discredit of the U.S. Supreme Court does not stop growing and to the allegations made against three of its members for unethical behavior is also added the name of Samuel Alito.

The justice has come under scrutiny following a ProPublica report that revealed a previously unreported, expensive fishing trip 15 years ago with a prominent conservative donor, whom the justice later favored in a ruling.

According to the investigation, Alito flew in 2008 on billionaire Paul Singer's private jet on a trip that included lodging and meals at Alaska's pricey King Salmon Lodge.

He alleged in the report that the tycoon had connections to corporate entities that later brought cases before the Supreme Court and won with the judge's support.

The report comes amid ongoing discussions centered on the Supreme Court's policy for disclosing gifts and calls from lawmakers for ethics reform at the nation's highest court.

Earlier this year, another ProPublica investigation alerted to the behavior of Justice Clarence Thomas, who accepted lavish vacations and other perks funded by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.

Separately, a Politico analysis found that a law firm that brought nearly two dozen cases before the Court had real estate dealings with Justice Neil Gorsuch.

Also, according to a report published by Business Insider, Jane Sullivan Roberts, the wife of Chief Justice John Roberts, earned more than $10 million in commissions over seven years for her work as a headhunter, at least one of which she argued a case before the Supreme Court.

The judge's partner accrued the money between 2007 and 2014 after she accepted a job at the firm, and two years after her partner was confirmed in the position, the report abounded.

Following the recent allegations against her, Alito declined to comment and instead criticized the media reports, even before their publication, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled "ProPublica Misleads Its Readers."

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, an advocate for crafting legislation to increase ethics regulations for Supreme Court members, said the justice's excuses before the allegation was revealed only heightened his concerns.

"This just keeps getting worse," he tweeted.

Also, Rep. Ted Lieu expressed that Americans may rightly be wondering if the Supreme Court became a cesspool of corruption due to blatant violations of ethics rules and probably laws by justices. (Source: PL)