The federal courts will not refer allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have violated ethics laws to the Justice Department.

A judicial policymaking body on Thursday rejected a request by Democratic lawmakers to refer conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to the Department of Justice to examine claims that he failed to disclose gifts and travel provided by a wealthy benefactor.

The U.S. Judicial Conference decided to not make criminals referrals to the Justice Department over separate ethics complaints against Justice Thomas violating ethics protocols.

The federal courts will not refer allegations that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have violated ethics laws to the Justice Department, the judiciary's policymaking body says.

The head of the Judicial Conference said there is legal uncertainty over whether it has the authority to refer complaints about Supreme Court justices.

Thomas has previously said he wasn’t required to disclose the many trips he and his wife took that were paid for by wealthy benefactors.