Supreme Court Ethics: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Вставка
- Опубліковано 21 лют 2024
- John Oliver discusses the Supreme Court, the ethically questionable gifts some of the justices receive, and an offer for Clarence Thomas that could ruin John’s life. Genuinely. You’ll see.
Connect with Last Week Tonight online...
Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight UA-cam channel for more almost news as it almost happens: / lastweektonight
Find Last Week Tonight on Facebook like your mom would: lastweektonight
Follow us on Twitter for news about jokes and jokes about news: lastweektonight
Visit our official site for all that other stuff at once: www.hbo.com/lastweektonight - Розваги
If I accepted a meal that was over $25 from someone looking to do business with the company I work for I would get fired. How am I, as a mechanic, held to a higher standard of ethics than a supreme Court Justice?
Come on mate, can't friends be just friends and give you a 500.000€ vacation for free. I mean isn't that what friends are for?
hmmm. answer is: Clarence is clearly a man whose ethics are ..... damning to him. And he has been bribed, with eyes wide open.
If you think thats bad, you might not want to look at the president
thats an assumption, media evidence isnt considered in court of trial, looking to do business, is a charge u have to prove to assume that sentence
There are a few factors:
1. Your company determines the amount. I for example could go to any lavish dinner, but couldn't accept a gift from a single person/family valued at more than 30 dollars, however if 3 or more students decide to give me a gift, there are no limits.
2. Is your reputation and level of work. If you are a mechanic, you should know a Japanese dude that remodels luxury cars so that they get a unique look, he literally gets flown all over the world and housed at top hotels.
3. You are acting like power, achievements, knowledge and experience should mean nothing, but it does. If you decide to speak with a recent graduate of a business school, looking for a job, and Warren Buffet or Elon Musk, it is obvious who'd receive the royal treatment
I can just imagine him watching this and sitting there, cursing John, and quietly whispering: "... damn, this is a nice motorcoach."
This is why I love love this man! Endless humor and balls! Bravo Mr. Oliver👏👏
Nah Thomas is loving this. He's already established he possesses neither integrity nor shame. All John's done from his perspective is up the ante his billionaire 'friends' need to 'gift' to >$1,000,000/year + motorcoach gravy. The brilliance of this move by John was never anything to do with Thomas, it's bringing our attention to Supreme Court corruption in the most ostentatious way possible by publicly offering actual bribery and in doing so pointing out that it is totally legal. If we want that to change we're going to need to stuff the court with justices that will rule in favor of legislation that imposes actual oversight, or somehow get 3/4 of the states to agree to a constitutional amendment that forces it on them.
With a nice chassis too
@@NoVerges would you mind telling why and pointing examples?
@@NoVerges
No one here believes you, troll.
Well, it's been two months, and Clarence hasn't taken the deal. I can figure only three possible reasons for that:
1) He doesn't believe this is actually a _real_ deal.
2) He never heard about this.
3) He gave his billionaire pals a chance to collectively make him a better offer -- and they did.
That's closer to the truth than any one wants to admit
When Democrats regain the House, they need to subpoena every one of those bribing billionaires. And if they refuse to testify, have a AG in there that will press charges. Put Leo and Crow in the pokey until they decide to testify.
More like John Oliver didnt even ever came close to thomas current "price"
@@barisard7190 That, too.
Lifetime appointments to the supreme court bench need to be done away with.
Having politicians appoint judges should be done away with before the lifetime appointments. Supreme Court judges should be hired by an independent body that looks at the history of judgements to ensure the person who makes the fairest and most often correct decisions is chosen. The idea of judges having political views that impact their decisions is completely alien to me. Judgements should not depend on whom is making them but on the laws, how they are written, and prior judgements.
The lifetime appointments are had enough but the fact that they’re a lifelong position while not even being voted on by citizens is fucking despicable
@@plutopepsi578 💯🎯
And that right there, my friends, is why John Oliver wins every award. This episode was perfection!
🎯💯
If this works, John Oliver should get the Nobel Peace Prize !! ❤🌍🌎🌏🌐
It would be nice if he cast that critical eye on the huge fortunes of all the bleepers in Congress (and the oval office) and not just on the one black guy on the supreme court. Funny how he doesn't mind Nancy Pelosi getting filthy stinking rich.
Clarence is definitely corrupt garbage, should be impeached. The conservatives on the court don't want to give trump total immunity at this time, because that would mean Biden could put a hit out on them as a "threat to democracy". They are waiting for trump to win, before giving him total immunity. They want a conservative dictator, not a liberal one.
@@aylbdrmadison1051q NM.
I'm speechless. This is the greatest attempt at creating change I've ever seen from a person with a public platform. Well done, John. Well fucking done.
How exactly? Is it really that important to democrats to have a Majority on the Supreme court?
It is almost entirely using Pro Publica reporting.
No, but it’s important to get an obviously corrupt justice off the court. It has been proven he has been bought and paid for by big business.
Bribing a supreme court judge on tv.
America is so fkn corrupt the americans love it...
banana republic
@@reredrumuoyConsidering how the republican majority stripped women of their bodily autonomy, I'd say it's pretty damn important, yeah.
so i work for the court. Most shows i watch are interesting, but as most people know: when a show starts to talk about something you REALLY KNOW, you see holes in it. Not the case here. Your research team must be EXCELLENT. This was informative and accurate to my understanding.
the fact that you used the phrase "the appearance of impropriety" was a double-take moment for me. i don't think half the people I work with realize that is one of the core tenants of our court - not only actual impropriety, but the mere appearance. your show is an absolute credit to the platform (both HBO and UA-cam) and I wish you all many many more years of success.
Right. The fact that it’s SO hard to prove or argue in a higher court, and that most people don’t experience let alone report or appeal anywhere near Thomas’s level of impropriety… this should be a slam dunk. But who can you complain to?! The jan6th Ginny texts take it to a whole new level.
I think he should retire with some dignity before the election. If Biden doesn’t win it’ll ensure that the left gets a seat and help him gain some redemption. Thomas will still have immense value in the private sector as his influence will continue considerably.
But he knows that superior court judges aren’t held to a standard by the states judicial commissions unless they piss off a higher up or get caught on video lolol wtf. Bad judges are villains
No holes in this reporting is quite a bold statement considering they left out the part that mentioned the Clinton's, Pelosi's, and Epstein along with many other powerful people. A slight oversight perhaps? Every single "justice" of the supreme Court that is equally guilty needs to be exposed, and by some crazy chance he is the only one who is corrupt the others should have that highlighted as well.
TENET !!!
I would question your claim that you work for a court or know anything about it when you say that "appearance of impropriety" is a novel concept for anyone who is actually a court official.
@@Astrobrant2Unfortunately, mass incompetence and/or corruption in positions of major authority is not exceptional or extraordinary.
It's truly bizarre that in America the highest court has the lowest ethical standards.
In capitalist America, ethics trickle up 👍🏻😂
The problem is that (out of necessity) the Supreme Court of each nation should be independent and safe from any political pressure. This inevitably means that the only thing preventing blatant misconduct is the integrity of the members of a supreme court.
Unfortunately, stupid is the new normal.
@@CaminoAir Well you could easily draw a group of random people like a jury to write an ethics code. Should minimize political manipulation.
More like no standards, like absolute monarchs, 9 kings and queens. Self regulating, what a complete joke. SCOTUS, more like a corrupt scrotums.
There needs to be a recurring segment called "How is this legal?" where John can feature his signature shenanigans.
He can't afford that.
@@d-rot Thats what sponsor daddy is for.
Unfortunately, there is no lack of material to support these segments
People will start trusting the lefties more, just as soon as they stop trying to steal our guns and force us to give money to people who haven't earned it.
If Thomas were not a Supreme Court Justice, would Crowe even speak to him, much less extending luxury vacations?
I think not.
Thomas knows that as well and is milking all his billionaire friends for all he can get.
Anyone on the political right claiming to stand with "the little guy" against "the elites" has always seemed bizarre to me.
Fr this man is in the Law field. They have never been a little guy in their life.
Because sadly, despite what everyone says, it only matters what you say and not what you do....
Its not even some clever propaganda trick, a lot of these people simply say "I'm on your side" and a substantial proportion of the population will believe it despite all the evidence
"the elites" is usually an antisemitic dog whistle for saying Jews without saying Jews.
John Oliver ONLY talks about Republicans and what they do wrong, he thinks Democrats do NO WRONG.
THEY ARE ALL CROOKED!!!!
That A.Hitler joke was genius and did not get enough respect
Yes, indeed. 🎉
So the Supreme Court has no ethical restrictions, yet their job is to decide what is ethical for everyone else. Unjust.
That’s about right
not ethical. constitutional.
big difference.
it's overt fraud hiding behind a few loopholes
@@vforwombat9915Finally, someone who gets it. 👍
Do asi say not as I do! This message has been approved by SCOTUS!
Just when you thought John Oliver couldn't be any more legendary.
John Oliver puts the Epic in Legendary!
He’s a rat
Holy shit I'm dying over here
I'll contribute $5 a month to John Oliver for the rest of Clarence's life if this works 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
So many gross psychopath’s at the top. Is no wonder so many of us down here are depressed
The legal system in the US is literally no better than the one I grew up around in Romania. The corruption is laughable.
...That hurts. What hurts is that you MIGHT be correct. Romania prosecutes rapists. America ELECTS and APPOINTS them.
So... it's a month later... I wonder...
I wish my wife hadn't passed away 4 years ago (for many, many reasons) because she adored this show and I keep seeing episodes that would have continued to make her cheer out loud!
I'm sorry for your loss. May your wife rest in peace and fly high. 🫶🕊️
How bitter sweet. It's lovely to see you appreciating things for her. ❤
I love the cheer out loud bit. Sorry your wife is no longer around mate, she sounds like a real gem.
💙💙💙condolences. I know where your comming from. 👏
That may be the single greatest episode of a “Comedy“ news program ever created. John Oliver, despite the fact that he is not an American, is an American hero.
As an Englishman, I'm very sad we didn't give him a platform like this. We relegated him to stand up comedy.
You don't know what you have until it's gone, as they say.
Our political system also needs a group of dedicated people like this show's staff to hold it to account. We have Jonathan Pie and Private Eye, but they don't have half of the reach or influence John has built in the US.
He's an American.
Interesting, informative and entertaining … not to mention dead-on accurate on who the enemies of the people really are!
John Oliver for president!
he's an american now. he has a better understanding of issues plaguing this nation than many american-born citizens do.
Johnny Boy, you’ve done us proud. You might have begun as an Englishman, but now you’re affecting change the American way: with bribery. 🐐🐐🐐🐐
"effecting"
It is not a bribe. If it was a bribe it would be illegal.
Correction, after looking up the definition of bribe, I've come to the conclusion that I was wrong and it is a bribe.
@@reprapmlpconfidently wrong there? Lmao
@@jw8160no it's just an American style bribe bull face and Elton open that's literally what this entire segment was about. The fact that Clarence Thomas is legally accepting bribes bull faced and out in the open.
Effecting change is the proper way to say that. Check the dictionary.
I'm a prosecutor in San Antonio. A few years ago, I was doing traffic tickets in one of the JP courts and this really anxious lady came in for a speeding ticket. She was freaking out because she had never been in trouble before. It took me 30 minutes to calm her down and calmly explain how deferred disposition works and that it really wasn't that big of a deal.
She came in the next day with a thank you note and a $25 chili's gift card. I was really touched by the note cause she explained that I had done a lot to ease her worries. I accepted the thank you note but returned the gift card because it would be unethical of me to accept it.
Its fucking wild that I have more god damn ethical consideration in a god damn traffic court than a fucking Supreme Court justice does.
I'm proud of you, even while dealing with prosecutors causing me anxiety over a case that i was clearly innocent in with no evidence. I'm like that lady lol only had a 9mph over ticket in my whole life before this bc they changed the sign.
Unfortunately my biggest charge is a felony obstruction, which really worries me. I was just walking my dog and got SLAMMED by police with no explanation and apparently one broke a nail beating me so here we are.
You have a conscience and you listened to it and you are not morally corrupt. You are one of the few that is holding up the faith in the judicial system ...
Bless you. You have ethics and a conscience!!
now imagine she'd come in with $100k gift card. now imagine 15 people all offered you that amount for your job, you might turn into Thomas at that point if you have no conscience. Honestly, he's making $300k and it's not enough. it's mind-boggling!
When he says he's going to sweeten the pot a little bit, we all knew it was a "Motorcoach", but we were all hoping it was a giant frog statue.
I was expecting the world's largest pot of honey 🍯
How is almost $300,000/year not enough pay???? Thats LUDICROUS.
300,000 $ is only 300 bottles of 1000$ a bottle wine . not a decent salary . 🙄🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♀️
@@markbahouth2713 not even enough for a modest 1 bottle per day!
No one should ever be appointed to a position for life
I don’t see a better way. The courts need to have no respect for politics. I think that at least, there needs to be a 60 vote Senate confirmation. From now on all judges will be partisan because the threshold doesn’t require bipartisanship.
@@rustynails68 of course there is a better way. The rules in the US are ridiculous, starting from the non-defined number of members of the SC and ending at the lifetime appointments. Just make them an uneven number, and limit their stay to a certain amount of time. And maybe pick someone who is not out of his / her mind, but has been, let's say, a well-respected judge for a longer time on a rather high court. You can't actually think that people like Thomas or Cavanaugh are the best justices in the entire country.
@@henryoffigaro2446 I like the fixed judge idea. The constitution isn’t perfect and if we try to improve it in this climate, it will certainly be very bad. Cavanaugh should have been disqualified during the confirmation for being a ridiculous person with too much respect for the president who appointed him. Katanji turns out to be very bad as well. They aren’t elite scholars anymore. I really hate opinions that evaluate the consequences of legislation. In my opinion, that is the legislative responsibility. There could be a 20 year term limit, but I don’t think that a judge should be loyal to a party or a president or should fear any consequences for being unpopular. Givers of inappropriate gifts should get consequences.
@@henryoffigaro2446 Our constitution is pretty good. It needs an amendment defining an insurrection and a mechanism of disqualification. It needs a 60 senator confirmation. It needs a 9 justice court. However, the potential improvements are of little concern. The concern right now is will we defend the constitution as it stands? It is losing respect. It is a slippery slope to ignoring it entirely.
I love how people want more justices now that it has the make-up it has now but when it was the other way nothing but crickets. Always funny how humans act when they lose to the other side.
We need to see people holding signs that say, " TAKE THE MONEY, CLARENCE!" in the background of every news story and sporting event for the next 30 days.
Years. 30 years. If it takes that long…
@@SchoolforHackersIt’s sad but I think you’re right. It would take a completely universal message from pretty much ALL of the media and citizens. How often do we actually see public outrage change anything? It SORT of worked during the civil rights movement but even those advances in rights have been slashed or outright eliminated by the far right and _THIS_ Supreme Court. I genuinely don’t know what it would take to remove somebody like Thomas but I would imagine it would at least have tk START with dems winning across the board and taking all three branches. Even then, who freaking knows. It’s not like democrats are immune from being bought off.
"TAKE THE MONEY, CLARENCE!"
Clarence will publicly refuse the offer and the Koch brothers are privately going to match it.
@@SchoolforHackersThe offer is good for the next 30 days, that’s why we want signs to remind him every day that the offer is still valid.
If this isn't the best episode and subject to tackle ever, I don't know what is. Bravo, John Oliver, you still have an intact sense of justice and fairness - and humor !
John *finally* did it - he found a thing that the HBO accountants would say "No, we're not going to pay for that" to.
And with that… John Oliver and Team have secured the Emmy. Good to have you back, John.
YAAAAAAS QUEEN!!!
lol
Bruh they had to create a different section for him because he kept winning
Fuck! Now we do have to offer Trump a golden fleshlight of Mia Khalifa to earn an Emmy - Stephen Colbert probably
@@spiralentree737 They should just have a recurring "And now for our annual segment: We love you John, you weird British-American."
As an elementary school teacher who gets paid an insanely low amount, I blurted out a “fuck you” when he said the job wasn’t worth doing for the price. You don’t know the meaning of underpaid, Clarence.
The wild part is that's exactly why the Founding Fathers didn't want the government officials to make bank; so they wouldn't be there for the money.
Ditto as a librarian! There are real public servants out here barely making ends meet. He doesn't get to complain about 6 figures.
@@cerishreve9918 Bait used to be believable
I work in environmental conservation and it's the same here. And I've been a teacher as well, so I very much get your side too.
Hear hear! I know what we agreed to be paid, what people say, why we do this job, and what we are worth. Signed a 5th grade teacher.
And this is why LWT and John keep winning awards!
One of the best examples why these judges shouldn’t be Supreme Court judges for lifetime. In Germany these judges can only serve for 8 years
This infuriates me. As a professor, my state has determined that its an untenable conflict of interest for a professor to assign a textbook they wrote to a class they teach because they might earn $150 worth of royalties for it. But we're totally comfortable with members of the highest court in the land, which has absolutely no oversight, receiving millions of dollars worth of gifts. Or heck, any of the myriad of conflict of interests in any of the branches of our federal government. This was insane!
Which is funny becaue isnt it basicaly the norm for shitholes like harverd to have the "biggest people" in their respective field, so it is normal if they assign their own work. I mean would be contraproductive for the education if you could not assign the best book xD
It's the opposite where I used to teach. Idiot "professors" add a paragraph to a publishers stock book, get a coauthorship credit on that version and that's the course textbook.
It’s a club, bubba. And you ain’t in it.
Higher education policy was a big reason why i left my job
One of my professors got around this by offering the book for free, no drm, digitally, to his own students. Or we could pay $40 for the pair of books printed and bound nicely in the bookstore. I bought them, but I know some students really appreciated the free digital version.
I work in the civil service in the UK. If I accepted gifts even of only £10 without declaring it and getting it looked at I'd almost certainly be fired for gross misconduct.
This is public service journalism at it's best. The last 5 minutes was scorching and went to a whole new level. Amazing work by John and the LWT team.
It is now up to the USA public to rectify this ... just as it is up to the Russian public and Chinese public and people everywhere to work to ensure good government.
IT DOESN'T JUST FALL OUT OF THE SKY.
John offering Clarence Thomas a million dollars a year just so he'll leave the court is honestly such a power move. Never change, John. Your British bird rants give us life
Of course, an appointment for his replacement will be blocked until after the election and maybe a few elections after that because Biden really is a lame duck president, so he would probably be succeeded by justice Donald Trump junior or something which would make the move feel rather pointless.
Its low key genius Clarence is 75 even if he lives to be 100 that's only 25 million
John Oliver is becoming the an old British GOAT.... your MOVE CLARENCE!!!
It’s also a federal crime but who cares right
Remember when John Oliver said net neutrality was going to be the end of the internet in 16. How did that turn out?
These writer/producers deserve every single accolade and award. Every. Single. One. Of. Them.
It's amazing how the most rigorous journalism comes from a comedy show.
Agreed!
Indeed
The jester always tells the truth.
Oliver is so much better than stewart
Yet when I worked for the state of Massachusetts I would be required to take annual conflict of interest training and they stressed the legal amount I could accept as a gift was 40$ what a joke
$298,500 annual salary, and the job isn’t worth doing? Then how about stepping down Justice Thomas? Surely John Oliver’s exit strategy adequately addresses your financial grievances…
When a British man actually loves American people more than their own supreme court justice.
He's one of us now, officially, since December 2019 🇺🇸 And his comedy has been positively influencing US legislation and court rulings for many years... He's one of our best and brightest 😊
It's too bad he can't run for president
@@tabularasaAmerica was built by immigrants, and it takes more dedication to willing give up one's homeland and pledge yourself to a cause wholly of your own choosing.
It's really common that the most staunch Americans who defend the ideals of the nation and not their own pocket books are immigrants who came here of their own choosing. While native borns take for granted their mother lands and abuse them.
Lol, John is a performer putting on a performance and getting paid very good money to do so. I'll bet you think the stripper really DOES like you.
Who is Oprah just trying to show the justices that she's got a ridiculous amount of money to spend on way overpriced flowers
"How is this legal" should be the tagline of his show
I think it was on the promo poster but who knew then, what they were talking about 😂
Well according to the law bribery is only illegal if it's to influence the "decision" of a government employee. If "decision" means any choice whatsoever then that opens up a massive can of worms where nearly everything would be illegal if it involves money or stuff. So likely it means it in the legal way where it's a legal "decision". Bribing someone to quit their job shouldn't be considered part of that job. Now bribing him to vote a certain way would be totally illegal even though it's likely that has been going on a ton. So if John got in trouble for this then so would Clarence and his sugar daddy.
We all know Thomas won’t take John up on the offer, but I wonder how long it’ll take him to wipe the drool off his mouth seeing that brand new $2m+ behemoth and that $1m/yr “severance package” before ultimately making up some non-sense about how you can’t buy a Supreme Court justice
You can; Thomas is proof of that… but this isn’t to “buy a Supreme Court Justice” … it’s to obligate himself to facilitating the “retirement” of a then *former* Supreme Court Justice… big difference
And the best thing is that Thomas wouldn’t even have to declare it as a gift per the current ethics code because the exchange only happens *after* he steps down, lol
“I’m too old for this 💩… after lengthy discussions with my totally best friend, the two of us have decided to spend the remainder of our retirement-aged years as retired people”
**drives his current motor coach to NY to sign the contract and drive off in his new ride**
I wonder what would happen if John got a visit from a sunglasses & ball cap adorned, trench-coat with lapels flipped up wearing Thomas who softly whispers “make it $2m/yr and you’ve got yourself a deal” … I think John would do it, lol… Thomas is 75… what’re the odds that he makes it to 85… dude looks like he’s 80+ as it is… $20m… to alter the course of America for the objective better…
🤞😯🤞
Ask Bob Murray
I don't think I've ever loved John Oliver more than I do at this moment. ❤
Thank you for finally speaking out about how gross wine is ❤
14:38 John delivered that "aging nazi napkin collector" so well... You can almost hear the lawyers telling him "you can't call him an aging nazi.", to which he replied "since he collects nazi napkins, can I call him an aging nazi napkin collector?"
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Wow I didn't even notice the intelligence of that loophole
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Clarence Thomas is a POS. I don't care if he's on the SCOTUS!!! OMG, he truly believes and behaves as if he is above the law! Lock him up!
:) It MUST have happended!
Owning a motorcoach and thinking you're not an elite, is certifiably insane.
The worst thing isn't Thomas saying he's just plain folks, or Trump claiming to be for the little guy.
It's the millions of MAGA nitwits who are dumb enough to believe it.
Saying you’re not an elite out loud and then going on a 2 week sea cruise exclusive to the 1% 5 days later should result in prison time 😂 straight to prison no trial
It's a matter of perspective when all of your "friends" are billionaires. He's jealous that they own private jets and live in mansions, when he makes do with a motor coach and lives in a large house. It's pathetic, if you think about it.
He know he's part of the elite, he just doesn't want to say him because it would hurt him politically. Republicans rely on poor Americans to vote for them so that they can keep legislation in favor of their elite friends.
I used to work for a guy who ran a rehab. He lived in a big house, owns a ton of other rentals properties, literally took the entire paycheck every week from the 30+ desperate people in his rehab, and owned an absolutely massive motorcoach. Refused to ever say he was wealthy
Vey well played, Mr. Oliver. Cheers for your boldness from Costa Rica!
That was the CRAZIEST ending I've ever seen on ANY show ever! Wow, props to john and crew!
the fact john didnt even use HBO's money for it REALLY shows he meant business
This ending is the greatest thing I have ever seen.
John Oliver and his team could change the course of history...with a comedy news show...
What's worse is that he almost doesn't have to try to make it funny, the jokes pretty much wrote themselves. that should tell you how bad things really are. Even worse is the fact that this came out in the news months ago, and there was basically nothing anyone could do about it. SC said we see no issue, and biz as usual.
What does it take to be an activist these days?
@@mdisenmoney apparently. Obscene amounts of money.
He's biased and is playing the game. He is one of them.
@@ryanyoung7433 Of course he's biased. Everyone is. He's just one of the few people that's vocal about it. And his platform does promote change.
The Supreme Court should just put a giant sign up outside the court, 'Justices for Sale.'
They don't need to. It's understood.
That kind of shaming only works on people with a conscience. These sociopaths won't be moved because they don't care. They honestly believe they're entitled to behave the way they do.
@@eighthourlunch Yes its the type of Psychopathology that comes with the circle of the Criminal Wealthy Ruling Elite---you're absolutely entitled to be some sort of god and the more sadistic you act the more you're rewarded -- thats why Christianity and Politics are in charge in the US--all the wrong people come through those two avenues.
Why would a conservative need to bribe a justice who already decides conservative?
This has to be one of Oliver’s best shows ever. Brilliant.
As a woman who went through sexual harassment in the early 80s, when it was always the woman's fault, Thomas disgusts me. He lied about what he did to Anita Hill and continues to be a disgrace. There should be term limits for SCROTUS... and Thomas' term should be up. Vote BLUE to save democracy. Thank you, Mr. Oliver!
Their derangement aside, can you imagine him actually taking the deal? would be priceless.
I would gain a little hope for mankind if he does.
For beauty of a vehicle like that he'd be crazy not to. The yearly million is a nice bonus too, since he'd be able to retire immediately and spend all his time driving the home.
If Clarence takes the deal, John will no longer be able to deny that his show has a real world effect.
Could you IMAGINE that bit being in the history books? A sitting Supreme Court Justice publicly accepts a bribe to retire. Shit would be wild
THIS IS GOING TO BE AWESOME 👍😎🎉
Unbelievable segment! Best one to date!! Bribing a Supreme Court judge after having done the research to show that it's actually legal! Just... beautiful.
But we can all think it really hard, 1, 2... @@jw8160
It’s not a bribe. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.
@@jw8160 It is clearly bribe and it is not illegal.
Bribe = persuade someone to act in one's favor by gift or money or other inducement.
Corruption is now the working definition of 'Patriot' for the United Corporations of America. Got it.
@@penguinista uh, yeah... That's called quid pro quo bribery and it is very illegal. The problem is that there isn't enough evidence that said gifts had anything to do with rulings. Plus, who the hell is going to prosecute a SCOTUS justice, especially when there aren't even enough votes to impeach, let alone convict at impeachment?
as a tax preparer certified with the irs and the state i worked in i had a stricter ethics code than the fucking supreme court 🥴
This brings to mind a quote from a Justice of the Nigerian Supreme Court, Justice Oputa. He said of the Supreme Court, 'We're not final because we're infallible, we're infallible because we're final'.
"A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody, ought not be trusted by anybody."
- Thomas Paine
That is a good one mate
That can be used for most presidents. Dem or rep both are lying sacks of shit.
"What have you done to our country? The army is for defending trade and collecting taxes. It's not supposed to be bigger than the army of New York state."
-Thomas Jefferson
ATF is a body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody and they use chevron deference to imprison people who did nothing wrong
With absolute power comes absolute corruption.
I love that he doesn’t take the long ass pause for an applause and just talks through it, not every zinger needs a standing ovation
The show would be 4 hours long !
Yeah, that's more of a Bill Maher thing.
Completely agree. I just caught John Stewart's return episode and found that it really messes up the flow of the jokes when he pauses for the laughter/applause.
Ginni for prison 2024
The audience should just hit the applause emoji button
This should absolutely be required viewing for every US resident
john Oliver putting his money where his mouth is is absolutely amazing
Wow!!!! I'm speechless. The balls it took to do and air this segment.. wow. I'm speechless
Aren't these usually up on UA-cam on Monday mornings? I wonder if the content is why they waited til Thursday.
I absolutely love this show 😊
@@coalbloodedfrom now on, they only release it on Thursday, it was announced on twitter.
@@coalblooded supposedly HBO has made a requirement that he can't post it on UA-cam immediately because they want ppl to watch the episode on Max.
@@coalblooded No, some of the streaming services and HBO have a policy thing that puts them on hold from uploading edits to UA-cam for 4 days so there's actually a reason to pay them if you can't wait that long.
Maybe they wanted to take the extra time to make sure that his insane (but clearly established in precedent) offer was indeed legal… or at least not legally dubious…
We all know it won’t be taken up, but I can honestly say that if this closing piece ends up getting circulated on ANY prominent news channel of either political persuasion, daytime or late night talk shows, etc and gets followed up on Friday, March 22 (actually that’s when the offer expires, so followed up on Saturday, March 23 or Sunday, March 24th) then that would be epic beyond epic
And since Thomas wouldn’t be in a position to give John anything of substance and there’s zero chance that Johns retirement package would yield personal bias in Thomas’ current or future opinion in court matters (since he’d no longer be in a position to have any), this wouldn’t count as quid pro quo… but rather more akin to being nudged into early retirement by your investment firm with all the finesse and subtlety of a motor coach flying down the highway at full speed
Tip for reporters, if you want to get Thomas to respond to this: *ask him what he thinks about Oliver's **_RV?_*
Nice, trigger him into responding. 😂
"It's not an R.V..."
Its not an RV, its a motorcoach . LOL
nice, another lowkey racist episode that people laugh at
@@xyzzyx7812 just because a corrupt piece of shit happens to be black, does not make this racist
Best episode of anything I ever watched. Well done John!
A million dollars a year would be nothing to Clarence with what he's getting now.
He screaming at the end "how is this legal?" made me almost cry out laughing.
How is this legal?
You're crying out laughing, I'm laughing till I cry. Two sides of the same coin, I guess.
I mean it kinda has to be.
There is no quid pro quo and super pac/dark money "lobbying" isnt illegal/bribery so this by definition is a lesser offense than lobbying.
Like another Don used to say… ONLY IN AMERICA
It's only legal because it's only possible for people with a lot of money, if it were possible for the average person it would have been made illegal years ago
'Murica.
"...that's a bit of a red flag, specifically, *this* red flag!" (11:25)
What an amazing line
The fact that a: this didn't get more up-votes and b: I forgot that point is a testament to how off the rails the end was.
Keep doing what you're doing John. You and your team are amazing.
HBO be like: "John bought WHAT?"
Thomas not taking the deal exposes that he is getting MORE than 1 mil per year and a 2.5 mill dollar motor coach...
I imagine there are a shit ton of transactions that he is able to hide from the public.
He probably is making more and if he isn't those ceos are gonna probably raise how much he is getting from him to keep him there.
Concerning context of all of this aside.
That or his power trip is worth more to him than conceding his seat
imagine if more elites came through and added to the pot, they would eventually reach a number Thomas couldn't refuse. Also Thomas is pretty old, so I imagine they wouldn't have to make payments for too long.
Bribes bribes bribes
To be fair, we don't know what's in the contract.
Just when I think my regard for John Oliver can't get any higher...
...he pulls this out of the bag.
Brilliant.
Ditto!
One of the best episodes by far
So? He's come up from hell to the sewer?
Or BRILLENT as real fans of the show would say
@@permerte5118 Deep cut
Thank you, helping us laugh...while we're being screwed! I love you John. 💕
"talk it over with your 'totally best friend in the whole world' " 😂😂😂
Yeah, solid research and wit. :)
😊
There's no way Clarence would sign that contract, but it's still cool and absolutely totally insane they offered that
I absolutely believe he would. Absolutely. I expect his "good friends" are upping the anti as we speak.
They need him on the court doing their bidding.
@@cindys2617 agreed, which it why he won't sign. He'll go for a million 1 from them
And illegal
Of course not, the point of it is to show how easy it is to corrupt the Supreme Court. What John is doing SHOULD be illegal, but hilariously its not. And in the absoultely bat shit case that Thomas takes the deal, the political fallout will destroy the conservative wing of the court and their GOP allies. Its a win-win move by John. Impressive.
The fact that there's nothing stopping him from signing that contract is absolutely wild.
This might be the greatest moment in modern comedy history. Because it's real. Because America has become the joke and only comedy seems to be able to tackle these complex issues and boil them down to the truth. Mr. Oliver, you make me proud that you've come to the United States, to deliver truth in a British accent, the only way Americans can really accept it without instantaneous rebellion, ironically enough. Thank you for speaking truth to power and putting your financial health on the line for our country. Your repay your citizenship a million fold whether that creep quits or no.
No, it's not just comedy that can get the point across, the problem is NO ONE listens. Even with these comedy attempts, you'll pretend you listened to it, got the point.... but a week from now you'll have forgotten and will be saying this same thing to some new segment and the cycle will continue until we've all lost our freedom or have just died.
You mean it massages your bias
@aliciafraser1835 probably because if you were serious you'd start with sotomayor. I'm only half way through... only conservative justices are mentioned.
@@stevenp25100 only Zealots are mentioned.. big difference
It's only my opinion but he's making big changes. I love John he makes me see hope in this world
John Oliver is officially a GENIUS!!! What an ending!!
Well its now been a month, i didnt hear of him stepping down so that's just too bad.
this show definitely belongs in the journalism Hall Of Fame
and so does John
Absolutely - this episode deserves a special award. Past an Emmy ; cuz it's off the charts like no one has ever seen. If you're going to go after the supreme court , you better do it right. They got it right.
Classic case of a funny man, using his charm and comedic talent to entertain and capture the attention of the general public whilst also pointing out and making the public aware of lies, hypocrisy, and just general issues going on in the world.
A modern day Jester.
Eh, not really.
This episode was pretty straight forward since he was mainly relying on the Propublica piece who did all the leg work. But GENERALLY speaking you get a very very slanted understanding of an issue when you watch it here. I tune in every week for the entertainment aspect, but you shouldn't be getting your understanding from here, because it's often angled to the point where it borderlines misinformation. There was recently a monument which was destroyed because of bad info on this show.
So yea, entertainment awards, yes, but not the journalism hall of fame. This isn't journalism.
@@MrSlowestD16what statue was destroyed aka. information from this show??
@lood6761 Some statue in some fly-over state. There was a rumor or theory that it was commissioned by a white supremacist, which Oliver reported on (and he did admit it was a rumor), and then went on to discuss the potential racist roots it had for 20 minutes, then some nut job heard this & destroyed it figuring it must be true.
But it transcends the 1 episode, if there's ever a topic you're well informed about before Oliver does a piece on it then you'll see it quite clearly. There's a lot of conveniently absent facts and points that are either skipped over or glazed over to pander to a young progressive audience a bit more. A lot of topics are more nuanced and complicated than they appear here.
It's not really any different than any other talking head, and it's a good place to hear about a topic for the first time (as well as get some laughs), but it shouldn't be used as a primary source of information, more-so a starting point of learning about a topic. I usually don't miss any episodes, but I'd never say this is "journalism."
"the seat would otherwise have been unoccupied"
is the same defense as: "if i hadn't bought the drugs from my dealer, someone else would have"
I think you have a good idea for a comic book hero here. 😂
To be fair, the conservatives are sending their best.
That was a defence, one very libertarian person once used, to defend why their company took a very dodgy government contract. Because "someone else would have, better to be us."
"Why make gun safety laws when the bad people will break them anyways?"
Debating a Conservative is like debating a child.
Or a guy I know who said of his married, cheating, closeted lover, "if I didn't sleep with him, someone else would have." 🙄
You are truly an exceptional human John, I envy your courage.
Sometimes I'm like 100% sure Tucker Carlson is the most morally bankrupt and worst person in the country, and then I remember Clarence Thomas and I'm only like 80% sure.
Eventually, it’ll turn out Thomas has been on a month long yachting holiday every year with Vladimir Putin, and his title will be confirmed.
"How is this LEGAL?" John Oliver is and always will be amazing.
And he pointed out that the Supreme Court justices dress up like wizards in Harry Potter. 😆😄
They wave their magic wands and make Roe vs Wade disappear.
:( didn't accept the offer tho
True, it does feel almost like bribery.
@@thesmithersyalmost???
Incredible. John Oliver and the team just ELEVATED this show and dusted others. What an ending!
Eh not really
I love the many details here! You can’t hear that anywhere else!
Lifetime tenure should be abolished. It's one of those practices, like presidential pardons, that are just a recipe for corruption. Those in the highest positions of power should be held the most accountable, not dismissed from any consequence. They should fear for their jobs more than anybody else.
The greatest episode since the debut, imo. Never saw one that wasn't excellent, moving, hysterical, and thought provoking. This one explains how you own the many, many trophies. Thanks for all, John.
lol
I agree with this person.
Great show absolutely spot on to the uncle Tom of all time
I am from India and this episode carries a universal torch throwing light on corruption plaguing our system be it parliament, congress or the court whether be it India, America or any other country in the planet. Even though what oliver shows is the rotten underbelly of American society and politics,his humor filled investigative journalism speaks to all the citizens of the world. I am one of those citizen. Carry on!
Am also an Indian from State of Karnataka. What you have said is correct.. I watch John Oliver's shows regularly and am a huge fan of him 😊
lord knows yall got your problems over there.
good luck man
amen
I aprove this message
Mah, YOU ARE SO RIGHT
AND HIS HUMOR LIKE
SOME OTHER LATE NIGHT PEOPLE THEY TELL THE TRUTH WITH HUMOR!
I agree with another person who made a comment. How can the highest court in the land have the lowest standards, and they're not held accountable for their actions!
Hey... Has there been an update on the Clarence Thomas offer yet?!
John Oliver and Last Week Tonight have officially snapped. I've never been so speechless nor had my mouth agape for so long and I'm just a viewer. Please protect this man and this show at all costs. My goodness, what a way to usher in the new season! Bravo!
Snapped means something negative though?
@@allisons6910 That's the fun thing about the English language, context can change (almost) anything.
A classic “had us in the first half”
You can relax, he's not going to do anything. He also threatened to release all of the internet search history for Congress and he never followed through on that, either. It's just a tv show with a love for doing flashy stunts
Brilliant. Take the magic bus from this English muffin Thomas!!!
If the IRS is so hung-ho about enforcing the code that mandates that you must pay taxes on non-business related private jet flights that are gifted to you, then they need to go after these Justices. If they aren't listing these flights as taxable income, they are engaging in tax evasion.
But, who can hold the kings of the court to the law?
They will appeal TO SCOTUS.
The IRS is like: "we have to spend a million in law costs so that he and 4 of his buddies will say it's ok to tax evade when you're rich or have rich friends. Not worth the risk."
It's "gung ho"...
Of course it is. You must be one of the lucky few who have never inadvertently misspelled a word. Thank you for setting the record straight.@@ellabartal4652
That's the problem - how do you "go after" Supreme Court justices? What court would take the case?
YES!
You have outdone yourself with this segment. I loved every minute of it from start to finish.
I love listening to Oliver. His team does research making his show most insightful.
That cat filter mishap and the lawyer was one of the best things that came out of Covid. 😂
..priceless!
💯 whenever I need to LMAO, I play it 🤣🤣🤣
but did you catch the lawyer above sleeping through it all?
there's another one and the person was a potato. It instantly brightens my day 🤣
IM NOT A CAT!!!!!!
I like to imagine that John asked his lawyers if the part at the end was legal, and their response was just, "Somehow."
Why wouldn't it be? It's like offering employment, and these are the terms - you leave your current position, that's it. Of course, it won't fly because there is no way Thomas would subject himself to the inevitable ridicule that would follow (from both sides of the political aisle).
I am currently 5th-year student of law, working in a law office and I was already forced to say something close to this even tho my head could not get around how the fuck was it legal
@@hacep160 I've been in law well over 30 years (sports, then corporate), and this is very much legal, yet it blows my mind, too. 🤣😅
For once I appreciate good lawyers.❤
It's legal because judges, especially SCotUS judges, are above the law.
This was an absolute masterpiece but Just a heads up at 10:41 Jon casually mentioned a "Leonard Leo" and if you wanna know who TRULY runs the entire country, look into that man. It is disturbing how much power that singular man wields, how much damage he has already done and how little anyone knows he even exists.
I just watched the first 50 seconds -twice - and I’m DYING. 😂😂😂 That was enough for me to last the whole day. Friggin’ HILARIOUS!!!!
“How is this legal?”
Me, an attorney: oh my sweet summer child.
Legality, Ethics after peeling, boiling, mashing, fermenting, baking, boiling again dehydrating and finally throwing away as even the compost bin wouldn't accept it.
Ok, the Bob Murray bashing was already epic, but THIS IS WORLD CLASS AWESOMNESS!
Thomas, don’t deny - INDULGE!!!
Oh boy, there's more to Thomas, if you're interested. The podcast Behind the Bastards has 4 episodes on him. As a tidbit, can you guess what he thinks of porn? I bet you can't!
@@GuerillaBunny Frankly, I am not sure why, in the entire pool of trash about this man, we should care about what he feels about pornography, since he is doing astronomically more damage in other places, and mostly speaks to where your head is at. smh
Eat shit Bob.
Not only will I never forget that asshole, those words are what I will always associate with him... That song and dance number was.... The most epic middle finger I have ever seen flown.
@@kylemccall4306Astronomical damage? Please elaborate beyond "abortion being a state decision."
Amazing!! I hope he takes you up on it.
The way Clarence says "totally my best friend" is like some hypnotic prompt he has to say...are we SURE Clarence wasn't given the Get Out treatment?
“How is this legal!?!”
Dying here
💀💀💀
It’s finally completed: ua-cam.com/video/ozNkk2gZVV0/v-deo.htmlsi=qBcoaNfyYvL5orWD
Same reason he's been able to cash in up till now with no problems. The rules don't apply to them.
That should be the motto of the entire US legislative process.
thomas helped set the case law in the state of virginia governor corruption case that conveniently basically tossed the bribery statutes as long as no one says "this is a bribe" he can take money from whoever he wants
Hi, John! I’m a senior on a fixed income (aside from the occasional editing gig); I’m so broke, I rent a friend’s basement as my primary residence. I live like a fungus, John. BUT. If Thomas takes you up on your offer, I undertake to send you $10 a year for the life of the contract (or me). Now, that’s not much, but what if there were 100,000 people like me who would consider it an honor and a privilege to help keep Clarence Thomas’ mitts off our democracy? Sounds more doable, right? Just do us a favor and negotiate a little harder with Alito. And keep up your brilliant work, forever and ever, world without end, amen.
I'd pay my $10 a year and yours, so you don't have to make that sacrifice. This is a good plan right here and well worth getting this guy off the court.
I'm in!@@somerandomyoutubechannel5816
Hi, Samantha, I'm a senior, too, but I'd cough up $10 a year. I wouldn't be surprised if Anita Hill pitched in $10 also. She's been waiting for 40 years to see him go!
and me. $10.
And my $10
This might be my favorite episode yet!!! I hope he takes the deal!!!
Clarence Thomas is a disgrace to the bench. He sickens me when I hear him speak.
I would just love it if he takes John's offer. LOVE YOU JOHN!
This episode reinvigorated my desire to pursue justice while also flipping off those who make other's lives worse to enrich themselves. I needed this!
Roe v Wade was wrongly decided.
We're supposed to be a nation run by laws; not by men.
Legal work for the ACLU?
Best wishes on your journey!
I can’t believe how many people in this country are defending the mega wealthy, we should all be absolutely enraged!