News Information and Media Site: The Supreme Court’s crisis of confidence

From Chuck Todd, Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez

Friday, May 05, 2023

FIRST READ

Clarence Thomas revelations threaten Supreme Court's sinking credibility

Eric Lee / Bloomberg via Getty Images file

If it's FRIDAY … America gains 253,000 jobs, unemployment at 3.4% … Four Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy for Jan. 6 … North Carolina passes a 12-week abortion ban … Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., says she plans to return to the Senate … Rep. Colin Allred, D-Texas, raises more than $2 million for Senate bid … And first lady Jill Biden heads to England for King Charles' coronation on Saturday.

But FIRST … The headlines keep coming for Justice Clarence Thomas and the Supreme Court.

"For over 20 years, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been treated to luxury vacations by billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow."

"Billionaire Harlan Crow bought property from Clarence Thomas. The Justice didn't disclose the deal".

"Clarence Thomas had a child in private school. Harlan Crow paid the tuition."

"Judicial activist directed fees to Clarence Thomas's wife, urged 'no mention of Ginni.'"

And this is just from the last month.

Thomas was already drawn into controversy over the years because of his wife Ginni's political activism, most recently her efforts to push GOP lawmakers to protest the 2020 election results.

And the new drumbeat of headlines makes it clear this issue isn't going away, despite attempts by many Republicans (and Chief Justice John Roberts) to ignore them, or deflect.

Here's a thought experiment: Change the names. Turn Harlan Crow or Leonard Leo into George Soros, Justice Thomas into Justice Sonia Sotomayor – and Republicans would be crowing about the liberal coup at the venerable Supreme Court.

Why the silence? Because the weaponization of the Supreme Court, spurred in no small part by the Senate, has brought us to this point – when the balance of the court matters above all else, a scandal sends everyone to their partisan corners.

And there's been a real cost. The branch of government that arguably needs bipartisan credibility the most is now experiencing a crisis of confidence.

Last year, just 25% of Americans said they have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in the Supreme Court, per Gallup – its lowest rating in 50 years. The highest that confidence has been this century came in 2001, when 50% said it had confidence in the court despite the deeply consequential, and political, Bush v. Gore decision the year prior.

Face it, there's a cancer on the court.

The question is: How will Chief Justice John Roberts and the rest of the justices act?

Headline of the day

Data Download: The number of the day is ... 4

That's how many members of the Proud Boys group were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in connection with their actions during the riot at the Capitol on Jan. 6. The four members, which include Enrique Tarrio, the group's former chairman, the group's former chairman, Joseph Biggs, Ethan Nordean and Zachary Rehl, were also found guilty of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding.

A fifth member of the group charged was found not guilty on the first count, while the judge in the trial declared a mistrial for that member on the latter count. That fifth member, Dominic Pezzola, was found guilty of stealing a police shield, which he used to smash in a window.

Other numbers you need to know today

The number of weeks after which abortion would be banned (with exceptions) under a bill the North Carolina legislature approved Thursday, which Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to veto, which the GOP-controlled legislature could override the veto.

$68 million

The value of a settlement between Kroger and West Virginia for Kroger's role in the opioid epidemic, NBC News' Julia Jester reports.

More than 2,000

The average daily apprehensions in the U.S. border's Rio Grande Valley sector, per reporting from NBC News' Julia Ainsley on how the new surge in border crossings has already begun.

47%

The decline in deaths from Covid between 2021 and 2022, the Washington Post reports.

The number of state attorneys general who are investigating workplace discrimination allegations in the NFL.

48%

The portion of Americans who are worried about whether their money is safe in the bank, according to new Gallup polling.

$17

The amount, per hour, that Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is pushing to make the new federal minimum wage.

The number of mass shootings in Serbia this week, a trend that's uncommon outside of the U.S., the New York Times reports.

Blog / Meet The Press

Eyes on 2024: Democrats are all in for Allred

Bill Clark / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images file

The Texas Senate race is already shaping up to be a barn burner – Democratic Rep. Colin Allred's initial fundraising haul is an early sign that the Lone Star State will once again host an expensive Senate race.

Allred raised more than $2 million in the first 36 hours of his campaign, NBC News' Daniel Arkin reports. That's more than GOP Sen. Ted Cruz raised during the first three months of the year, when he hauled in $1.3 million. Cruz did end the first fundraising quarter on March 31 with $3.3 million in his campaign account. Allred's House campaign had $2.2 million, which could be transferred to his Senate run.

As we wrote yesterday, Texas is one of Senate Democrats' few pickup opportunities next year, and a tough one at that. But a well-funded Democratic challenger could force Republicans to spend money in the Lone Star state, diverting money away from Republican efforts to flip blue Senate seats.

The race is already getting heated, with Allred criticizing Cruz for spending time hosting a podcast, which releases three episodes per week. Cruz defended his podcasting, telling Insider that it is popular "because people found it valuable to understand what was happening in the Senate."

"That is not somehow peripheral to doing the job," Cruz said. "It is integral to doing the job."

In other campaign news…

Party time: Former President Donald Trump has only sparingly mentioned the word "Republican" as in speeches, interviews, and videos, NBC News' Vaughn Hillyard and Jonathan Allen report.

Standing by their man: Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis' big donors are largely standing by him, USA Today reports, although they acknowledged that he "has faced setbacks and that beating Trump would be difficult." DeSantis (who is not officially in the race yet) also picked up an endorsement from New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn), per the New Hampshire Journal.

Preaching to the choir: The Washington Post delves into the so-called "J6 Prison Choir," who Trump featured at his first rally, identifying five of the 15 men captured on video singing the Star Spangled Banner in prison. "Four of them were charged with assaulting police, using weapons such as a crowbar, sticks and chemical spray, including against Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died the next day," the Post reports.

Trump trial: Both sides of the civil trial against Trump, where he faces allegations of rape and defamation from write E. Jean Carroll, rested their cases on Thursday, with closing arguments expected on Monday if Trump decides not to testify.

Outside help: President Joe Biden is getting some outside help in his push to raise the debt ceiling, with outside groups pressuring vulnerable Republicans on the issue, NBC News' Alex Seitz-Wald reports.

Peach state primary: Democrats' effort to make Georgia an early primary state was stymied Thursday when GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced he was scheduling the presidential primary for March 12, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Raskin askin' (about a Senate bid): TIME Magazine reports that Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, the former lead impeachment manager in Trump's second impeachment trial, is considering a Senate bid and will be "taking the month of May" to decide on a run.

The tax man cometh: Spectrum News' Taylor Popielarz spoke with Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown about reporting from NBC News' Henry Gomez cataloging the senator's late tax payments and questionable claiming of a tax credit.

Craft and Cruz: Texas GOP Sen. Ted Cruz backed Kentucky Republican Kelly Craft, the former ambassador to the United Nations, in the state's GOP gubernatorial primary and will campaign with her next week.

The Santos latest: Semafor reports that the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the House Ethics Committee dismiss a sexual harassment claim against New York GOP Rep. George Santos "because there is not substantial reason to believe that Rep. Santos sexually harassed or discriminated against the complainant."

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ICYMI: What ELSE is happening in the world?

An autopsy revealed that Tyre Nichols, who died in January after he was punched and kicked by police officers in Memphis, Tenn., during a traffic stop died from blunt force injuries to the head.

At a Senate hearing Thursday, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said China and Russia would likely take advantage of the U.S. defaulting on its debt to portray the country as dysfunctional and chaotic.

A federal jury acquitted former Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum of lying to the FBI, but is expected to be retried on the question of whether he misused campaign funds after a hung jury on other charges.