A new damning investigation from ProPublica reveals Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas attended multiple fundraisers in connection with the billionaire Koch brothers, who have spent millions on conservative causes and funneled vast donations into Republican campaigns. “None of this was disclosed as it should have been on his annual financial disclosures,” says Justin Elliott, reporter for ProPublica covering Supreme Court corruption and ethics. “He’s spending time with people like the Kochs who have active interest and, in fact, cases at the Supreme Court.” This comes as a Supreme Court precedent known as Chevron is set to be revisited, with conservatives seeking to limit the power of federal agencies to issue regulations in areas ranging from the environment to labor rights to consumer protection. “If this Chevron doctrine is overturned by the Supreme Court, it’s going to make it much, much easier to challenge a regulation if you, as a company, don’t like it,” says Elliott.
