Clarence Thomas Gets Supreme Court Boost

Clarence Thomas was appointed by George Bush in 1991.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has gone up in popularity, despite all the recent controversies about him, according to new polling.

Out of the 1,500 people who were surveyed, 17 percent said Thomas was "favorable" and 10 percent said he was "unfavorable", giving him a net approval rating of +6. The questionnaire was carried out among eligible voters in the U.S. between June 11 and 12, by the consulting firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies, exclusively on behalf of Newsweek.

Some 14 percent of people said Thomas was "very favorable"; 15 percent "very unfavorable"; 27 percent neither; and 17 percent did not know.

This may come as a surprise to some, as Thomas is embroiled in multiple scandals, the most high-profile of which includes his failing to disclose gifts from Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.

Last April, ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative newsroom, said that Thomas had not disclosed that Crow had paid for luxury trips, numerous private plane flights, skybox tickets to sporting events and even the tuition of a relative.

At the time, Thomas defended his relationship with the Texas real estate billionaire, saying he and his family were "among his dearest friends," whom he has "joined on a number of family trips."

Thomas said: "Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable. I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.

"These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future," the statement added.

After the report, Thomas amended his financial disclosure forms and the Supreme Court, but, on Thursday, information about more trips came to light.

The Senate Judiciary Committee cited three trips, which included a private jet flight from Missouri to Montana in May 2017; a second private jet flight from Washington, D.C., to Georgia and back in March 2019; and a further flight from D.C. to California in June 2021.

This, along with similar controversies surrounding Justice Samuel Alito, has led to calls for the court to adopt a stronger ethics code, even after the Supreme Court adopted a new code of conduct in the aftermath of all of this last November.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin recently said it is "crystal clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct, because its members continue to choose not to meet the moment."

While Thomas and Alito are among the least popular of the 10 justices asked about in the survey, the former's popularity has gone up since Newsweek last looked at approval ratings last July. At that time, Thomas had a net approval of +3.

Both Thomas and Alito, who is facing heat for his wife flying flags associated with the "stop the steal" movement advocating for the overturn of the 2020 election, were appointed by George Bush in 1991.

Justices are generally appointed for life, but 32 percent of people surveyed said they would "strongly support" term limits being introduced.

Some 26 percent said they "support" the idea, while 22 percent said they "neither support or oppose"; 7 percent "opposed"; and 6 percent "strongly opposed".

Redfield & Wilton Strategies disclaimed about its data: "Because only a subset of the overall population of eligible voters in the United States was surveyed for this research, all results are subject to a margin of error.

"In this poll of 1,500 adults in the United States, if 50 percent of respondents gave a particular answer to a question—the worst-case scenario from the perspective of margin of error—it is 95 percent certain that the true value falls within a 2.53% range from the sample result."

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