Twenty Democrats wrote a letter to the oversight body for federal courts asking them to look into ethics violations by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.

Roll Call:

The group of 20 House Democrats led by Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to the U.S. Judicial Conference, the governing body for federal courts, saying that Thomas has failed to report the income of his wife, Virginia, who earned $700,000 from 2003 to 2007 while working at the Heritage Foundation, according to news reports.

The letter came just days before the Supreme Court returns for the new session, during which it is expected to consider a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Obama administration's sweeping health care law. With such high-profile issues on the horizon for the court, the lawmakers wrote, "it is vital that the Judicial Conference actively pursue any suspicious actions by Supreme Court Justices."

"Justice Thomas's failure to disclose his wife's income for his entire tenure on the federal bench and indications that he may have failed to file additional disclosure regarding his travels require the Judicial Conference to refer this matter to the Department of Justice," the group wrote in a letter to the secretary of the Judicial Conference.

The idea that members of congress are pointing the finger at anyone for ethics violations is absurd. How many members have their wives, girlfriends, and mistresses on their office payroll? How many use campaign contributions for personal matters? How many routinely sponsor or vote for legislation that directly benefits their investments and personal bottom line? How many eagerly take a proffered junket sponsored by a lobbyist to expensive vacation spots?

Virginia Thomas is an accomplished woman, an activist, and the head of a prominent conservative group, Liberty Central. Her political activism has nothing to do with her husband's work on the bench.To hint otherwise is indicative of the hypocrisy of liberals when it comes to the spouses of prominent government officials. Mrs. Thomas has carved out her own professional life and the Dems don't like it. If she was a liberal, advoacating liberal causes, do you really think there would be a problem?

Why Thomas should be singled out is obvious; he's a conservative on the court and the liberals want the opportunity to name a liberal before Barack Obama is defeated in 2012, thus assuring themselves of a majority on the Supreme Court far into the future.

The charges are bogus. It is a transparent attempt to alter the balance on the Supreme Court in the kind of political maneuvering found in banana republics. not great democracies.