In the news today: AP’s investigation into the ethics practices of the Supreme Court; NATO boosted by Sweden’s membership progress; deadly floods hit multiple locations. Also, scientists find the most distant black hole.
U.S. Supreme Court justices have long benefited from the presumption they chose public service over more lucrative opportunities. But records obtained by The Associated Press reveal the justices attended publicly funded events that allowed the schools to put the justices in the room with influential donors, including some whose industries have had interests before the court, lent the prestige of their position to partisan activity and advanced personal interests such as book sales.
Why this matters to the AP:
- The Supreme Court’s definition of banned fundraising is so narrow that it has allowed their appearances to be used as a powerful lure for money by institutions hosting them.
- The AP investigation also found that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s staff prodded public institutions to buy her books, the documents revealing repeated examples of taxpayer-funded court staff performing tasks for the justice’s book ventures in ways that would likely be prohibited for workers in other branches of government.
