Supreme court justices think selves exempt from rules, top Democrat says

Judiciary chair Dick Durbin seeks testimony from chief justice amid scandal over gifts to Clarence Thomas

Dick Durbin, the Democratic chair of the Senate judiciary committee leading a push for supreme court ethics reform, accused the top court of being a panel of nine justices [who] believe they are exempt from the basic standards of disclosure".

His claim came amid growing criticism of the conservative justice Clarence Thomas, whose judicial record is under scrutiny after he became embroiled in scandal over taking undeclared gifts from a Republican mega-donor.