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    Democrats Seek Criminal Investigation of Justice Thomas Over Travel and Gifts

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    The senators said the Supreme Court justice’s failure to disclose lavish gifts and luxury travel showed a “willful pattern of disregard for ethics laws.”Two top Democratic senators have asked the Justice Department to open a criminal investigation of Justice Clarence Thomas for possible violations of federal ethics and tax laws.Senators Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Ron Wyden of Oregon sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland last week asking that he appoint a special counsel to investigate Justice Thomas’s failure to disclose lavish gifts, luxury travel, a loan for a recreational vehicle and other perks given to him by wealthy friends.The request further intensified efforts by Senate Democrats to scrutinize Justice Thomas’s conduct at a time when they are trying to force Supreme Court justices to comply with stricter ethics and financial disclosure rules.“We do not make this request lightly,” the senators wrote in a joint statement. “Supreme Court justices are properly expected to obey laws designed to prevent conflicts of interest and the appearance of impropriety and to comply with the federal tax code.”“No government official should be above the law,” they added.Specifically, the senators asked that a special counsel investigate whether Justice Thomas violated federal ethics and tax laws by failing to disclose as income the $267,000 he received in forgiven debt for a luxury R.V.The senators wrote that Justice Thomas had “repeated opportunities” to explain his failure to disclose the gifts to the Senate Finance Committee, of which Mr. Wyden is the chairman, as well as the Judiciary Committee’s panel on federal courts, which Mr. Whitehouse leads.They also accused Justice Thomas of showing a “willful pattern of disregard for ethics laws,” behavior that they said surpassed that of other government officials who have been investigated by the Justice Department for “similar violations.”A spokeswoman for the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment. More

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      Two More Democratic Lawmakers Express Concern About Biden After Debate

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      Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island said he was “horrified” by the debate. Representative Debbie Dingell said “the campaign needs to listen to us.”Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, said he was surprised and “horrified” by President Biden’s frail appearance in his debate against former President Donald J. Trump and pleaded with Mr. Biden and his campaign to be candid about his current condition.In an interview with WPRI, a television station in Providence, Mr. Whitehouse, who in March defended Mr. Biden as “the only option that we have” to defeat Mr. Trump in the election, expressed alarm and said that he had “never seen” Mr. Biden in that kind of condition before.“Like a lot of people, I was pretty horrified,” Mr. Whitehouse said Monday, adding that he wanted “the president and his team to be candid about his condition, that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days.”Mr. Whitehouse was joined in his concerns by Representative Debbie Dingell, a Michigan Democrat in a deep blue district that encompasses Ann Arbor. Ms. Dingell criticized the Biden campaign for reports that its leaders were “going to stick to their strategy” and were considering holding some kind of interview or news conference to allay concerns about the president.“One interview isn’t going to fix this,” Ms. Dingell said in an interview on CNN, adding: “I think the campaign’s got to listen to people. And by the way, I think the campaign needs to listen to us.”She continued: “I know how to win campaigns. My strategy is to stick my ear to the ground and know what people are saying.”The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.It was the latest in a wave of reactions among Democrats concerned about Mr. Biden and his re-election campaign. The campaign and Biden allies have sought to tamp down the panic that has gripped the party and its wealthy donors in the aftermath of the debate. Top Democratic lawmakers fanned out on Sunday to defend the president and reassure his supporters.But Ms. Dingell’s and Mr. Whitehouse’s comments on Monday demonstrated that questions about Mr. Biden’s fitness for another four years in office will continue to linger heading into the Democrats’ nominating convention in August. More