Political Quotes

“Mr. President, it was 11 years ago that I wrote a letter to John Roberts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court--11 years ago-- asking him a basic question: Mr. Chief Justice, why is it that you believe the nine Justices that sit on the Supreme Court should be treated differently than any other person in Federal Government when it comes to a code of ethics? I didn't receive a reply to that letter. We know what has happened since. Through private investigations and investigations by journalistic organizations, we have come to discover that at least one sitting Supreme Court Justice--Clarence Thomas--has received more than $4 million in gifts from billionaires. What kind of gifts? Travel, jet airplane travel, travel on yachts, long-term vacations--worth more than $4 million, largely undisclosed to the American public. What is going on here? A Justice on the Supreme Court receives over $4 million in gifts from billionaires and doesn't disclose it to the public? What about other Federal judges in like circumstances? Do they have requirements when it comes to the gifts they can accept and what has to be disclosed? Of course they do--in detail. It is only the nine Supreme Court Justices that exempted themselves from the basic, enforceable, transparent code of ethics that applies to every other Federal judge in America. So when my friend from South Dakota comes to the floor and says we are being too critical of the Supreme Court--$4 million in gifts?…”