Poster for Clarence Thomas ProPublica event
Academic
September 9, 2023, 3:00 PM EDT

How ProPublica Uncovered the Justice Thomas Ethics Scandal

Join Justin Elliott, the investigative reporter at ProPublica who first uncovered Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ unprecedented and unethical conduct, for a conversation about the investigative and journalistic process, the story itself, Justice Thomas’ response and the future of the High Court. New York Magazine summarizes Mr. Elliott’s findings: Justice Thomas accepted staggering gifts from parties with significant interests in the Court’s holdings – including “38 destination vacation, 26 private jet flights, eight helicopter flights … a dozen VIP passes to sports events and two luxury stays in Florida and Jamaica,” all undisclosed in a breach of routine Court ethics procedure. The lecture and moderated Q&A will explore questions of the Court’s status as an independent deliberative body, its guardrails (or lack thereof) around ethical pitfalls and if the body’s public credibility can recover in a period of historic distrust and apprehension.

Event Details