There are laws against Supreme Court justices accepting certain gifts, but no way to enforce them

Clarence Thomas may have broken the law by accepting valuable gifts. But the federal gift law is unenforceable for Supreme Court justices. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas became the subject of controversy after ProPublica reported he accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of gifts – largely in the form of vacations and travel – from a wealthy conservative donor and did not disclose them. There are laws against federal employees, including members of Congress, accepting certain gifts. Several VERIFY viewers, including Peggy, asked whether those laws also apply to Supreme Court justices. THE QUESTION Are Supreme Court justices allowed to accept gifts? THE SOURCES THE ANSWER Federal law prohibits “officers of the judicial branch” from accepting gifts from people whom they could use their job to benefit. But the law leaves decisions about what gifts qualify, as well as enforcement and penalties, up to the ethics office of each government agency.  The Supreme Court doesn’t have an ethics office, meaning there’s no binding set of rules for justices to follow like there is for agency employees or members of Congress. WHAT WE FOUND Federal law prohibits any federal workers – including judges and members of Congress – from taking
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