In a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, Sen. Dick Durbin writes that the Senate Judiciary Committee will quickly maintain a listening to on the Supreme Court’s moral requirements within the wake of a information report about lavish journeys Justice Clarence Thomas took from a pal — a serious GOP donor — however didn’t disclose.

Patrick Semansky/AP

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Patrick Semansky/AP

In a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, Sen. Dick Durbin writes that the Senate Judiciary Committee will quickly maintain a listening to on the Supreme Court’s moral requirements within the wake of a information report about lavish journeys Justice Clarence Thomas took from a pal — a serious GOP donor — however didn’t disclose.

Patrick Semansky/AP

The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to carry a listening to about “the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards,” Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the panel, wrote in a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts, following revelations in ProPublica final week that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxurious holidays from a serious GOP donor however did not disclose them.

In his letter, Durbin additionally urged Roberts to “immediately open … an investigation and take all needed action to prevent further misconduct” on the courtroom.

“And if the Court does not resolve this issue on its own, the Committee will consider legislation to resolve it,” the letter says.

ProPublica reported final Thursday in regards to the journeys taken by Thomas and his spouse, Ginni, a conservative activist, that had been paid for by Harlan Crow. The holidays included cruises and personal flights over many years that would price hundreds of thousands of {dollars}; Thomas didn’t report them as a part of his annual monetary disclosure, in line with the report.

Thomas responded last week, saying he “was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable.” In a press release, he described Crow and his spouse, Kathy, as “dearest friends.” In the assertion, Thomas famous because the disclosure tips at the moment are being modified that “it is … my intent to follow this guidance in the future.”

In his letter to Roberts, Durbin famous that it was not the primary time that members of his panel had written to the chief justice about issues over the courtroom’s moral requirements, including that 11 years in the past the panel had urged Roberts to get the Supreme Court to abide by the Judicial Conference’s Code of Conduct for United States Judges, which binds each decide within the federal judiciary besides Supreme Court justices. Roberts declined on the time, replying that the “Court has had no reason to adopt the Code of Conduct as its definitive source of ethical guidance.”

“We submit that the Court has compelling reasons to do so, and urge prompt adoption of the Code of Conduct,” Durbin wrote in his letter Monday. “While last month’s revision to the Judicial Conference’s guidance on judicial financial disclosures was a modest step in the right direction, further action is needed.”