An obscure committee of federal judges responsible for reviewing the administration of the judicial system received a complaint about consistently inaccurate financial disclosures filed by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for review, the Washington Post reports.
Democrats Sheldon Whitehouse, the Senator from Rhode Island, and Congressman Hank Johnson of Georgia filed a complaint with the Judicial Conference of the United States, a Congressionally-created organization, about Thomas’s financial disclosures that have a pattern of omitting significant gifts, real estate transactions and spousal income. The Conference confirmed that it received the referral and sent it to its internal Committee on Financial Disclosure.
Though rare, the Judicial Conference can initiate an investigation into the conduct of a member of the judiciary. Although it has no authority to unseat a judge, it can refer an individual to the House for impeachment.