Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose luxury trips: Report

World
By William

United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — a conservative judge on the nine-member bench that makes up the nation’s highest court — has failed to disclose years of luxury travel he received from a donor, according to a report by ProPublica.

The omissions appear to violate a financial disclosure law that requires judges — as well as federal judges, members of Congress and other officials — to disclose most gifts, the nonprofit news organization said Thursday.

The report also raised questions about the power outside influences could have over the Supreme Court, which is the final arbiter of US law. His decisions have far-reaching consequences for the lives of US residents.

Citing documents and interviews, ProPublica found that Thomas regularly took rides on Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow’s private jet and 50-foot yacht.

None of those trips were mentioned in Clarence’s annual financial disclosures, according to the news outlet.

Thomas did not respond to ProPublica’s request for comment. However, in a statement, Crow said he and his wife “have been friends with Judge Thomas and his wife [Virginia ‘Ginni’ Thomas] since 1996”.

“The hospitality we’ve extended to the Thomas’s over the years is no different from the hospitality we’ve extended to our many other dear friends,” said Crow, who has used his wealth to support conservative causes for decades.

“Justice Thomas and Ginni never asked for this hospitality. We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Judge Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never tried to influence Judge Thomas on legal or political issues.

Crow added that he was “not aware of any of our friends ever lobbying or attempting to influence Judge Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing so”.

One of the recent trips detailed in the report was a 2019 Indonesian vacation, worth more than $500,000. Another was an extended cruise in New Zealand about a decade ago.

ProPublica also said it found evidence that Thomas flew regularly on Crow’s Bombardier Global 5000 jet for both domestic and international flights.

Supreme Court justices are generally required to report all gifts, including travel, worth more than $415.

Questions about resort stays

The ProPublica report also raised questions about Thomas’ regular stays at Crow’s lakeside resort in New York’s Adirondacks.

The law says that “food, shelter, or entertainment received as personal hospitality need not be reported.” But ProPublica noted that Crow’s resort is owned by a corporation, meaning Thomas may still be required to document his stay there.

Thomas vacationed at the resort along with executives from Verizon and PricewaterhouseCoopers, major Republican donors. According to ProPublica, his stay also overlapped with that of a leader representing the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.

A painting at the resort shows Thomas conversing with Leonard Leo, the leader of the Federalist Society, a legal organization that observers say played an important role in orchestrating the Supreme Court’s right-wing movement, the report said.

Ongoing ethical concerns

Thomas, who was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1991, has since become one of the most conservative voices.

During his tenure, Thomas has been no stranger to controversy. He was confirmed on the bench despite allegations of sexual harassment by former staffer Anita Hill, allegations he has denied.

His wife Ginni working as a conservative activist has also created potential conflicts of interest for Thomas. Critics have pointed out that her work occasionally overlaps with the issues before the Supreme Court.

Last year, for example, Thomas refused to back down when the court weighed cases related to the 2021 Capitol bombing, despite his wife’s support for efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.

US media published 29 text messages in which Ginni Thomas urged former President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows to maintain the lie that the election had been stolen. She called it the “biggest heist in our history”.

A history of gifts

Crow, who inherited his parents’ real estate empire, has repeatedly given gifts to the Thomases. They include a $19,000 bible that belonged to famed abolitionist Frederick Douglass, whom Clarence Thomas did mention in his financial disclosures.

According to the news publication Politico, Crow also donated about $500,000 to Liberty Central, a group Ginni Thomas founded in 2009 with ties to the conservative Tea Party movement.

He also helped fund a library dedicated to Thomas in Georgia, the New York Times reported in 2011.

In his statement to ProPublica, Crow said he and his wife will continue to support projects “to make sure as many people as possible learn about [Thomas]remember him and understand the ideals he stands for”.

He added: “[Clarence and Ginni Thomas] never asked us to do this”.

Response to Congress

Following the release of the ProPublica report, Senator Dick Durbin, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, called on lawmakers to pass a bill that would create a code of ethics for Supreme Court justices and a special counsel to investigate issues.

“The highest court in the land should not have the lowest ethical standards,” he said, adding that the reported conduct “simply falls short of the ethical standards the American people expect of a public official, much less a judge of the Supreme Court.”.

He called the report a “call to action, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will act.”

Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said the report “cries out” for an independent investigation.

Meanwhile, Representative Ted Lieu, a Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, called for Clarence to resign.

“Is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas corrupt? I don’t know,” he tweeted. “But his secretive actions definitely have the appearance of corruption. And apparently he broke the law. For the good of the country, he should resign.”

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