There are several hit pieces from Propublica against Republican-appointed Justices such as Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch these days, criticizing them for going on trips with rich friends.
I think these stories implying judicial wrongdoing are bogus and outrageous- and if we were to play that game, we ought to look into the Democrat-appointed Justices too.
Hm, how about everyone's favorite RBG?
"Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg disclosed taking more trips than any other justice in 2018, totaling 14. She visited Tel Aviv, Israel where she was awarded a lifetime achievement award by the Genesis Prize Foundation. Shortly following the award ceremony, she disclosed being provided transportation, food and lodging as a tourist and guest of billionaire Israeli businessman Morris Kahn."
It's a tu quoque that ought to be played.
The WSJ today wrote exactly the sort of response I think is needed to Propublica:
"The first sign that this is all politics is the context for the hearing. Note that it’s been triggered by easilydebunkedreports about the conservative Justices, especially claims that Justice Thomas didn’t properly disclose certain financial transactions.
But Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson didn’t get the same attention when she revised her financial disclosures in 2022. Her oversights were far more extensive than Justice Thomas’s. There was also no outcry in 2020 when Justice Sonia Sotomayor amended her financial disclosures after the group Fix the Court found that she hadn’t disclosed reimbursement for trips to universities.
Nor was there an uproar when the OpenSecrets website reported in 2019 that former Justice Stephen Breyer was reimbursed for trips some 219 times from 2004-2018. Some of those trips were supported by the wealthy Pritzker family. There are other examples involving liberal Justices.
To be clear, we believe none of these Justices did anything wrong. But neither did Justice Thomas in having a rich friend in Harlan Crow or a minor oversight on one of his disclosure forms. Democrats didn’t mind any of this when they agreed with the Court’s opinions on gay marriage, abortion, or restraining Donald Trump."
https://www.wsj.com/articles/supreme-court-ethics-reform-hearing-senate-democrats-john-roberts-clarence-thomas-ketanji-brown-jackson-sonia-sotomayor-d0304d65?mod=opinion_lead_pos1