Harlan Crowe, 74, the Republican mega-donor who sparked fury by showering Clarence Thomas with gifts

Democrats are sounding over a new report detailing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s close relationship with billionaire Harlan Crow.

Thomas had a habit of vacationing with Crow annually, without disclosing the acceptance of travel arrangements that could total hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Crow and Thomas met in the 1990s, a few years after Thomas joined the Supreme Court and the two have had a close relationship ever since – Crow is said to have once given Thomas’s wife Ginni $500,000 to start a Tea Party-related group. to aim.

The 74-year-old billionaire real estate developer who has lavished Thomas with gifts and outings is the chairman of a highly successful private investment firm, Crow Holdings, with nearly $29 million in holdings, according to the Dallas Morning News.

Thomas makes annual trips to Topridge, Crow’s estate in the Adirondacks

The retreat offers boating and fishing opportunities and features exotic furnishings

He inherited the real estate empire founded by his father, Trammall Crow, who was the country’s largest landowner in 1986, according to the Wall Street Journal, with nearly 300 million square feet of developed real estate.

He has been active in Republican politics, at one time served on the founding committee of the Club for Growth and served on the board of the American Enterprise Institute.

He has donated millions to Republican campaigns and conservative groups. He also presented Thomas with a series of unusual gifts, such as a bust of Abraham Lincoln and a $19,000 bible that once belonged to Frederick Douglass.

Thomas and his wife Ginni traveled aboard a Bombardier Global 5000 private jet. The trips have not been disclosed and do not have to meet the guidelines that the Supreme Court sets itself

a ProPublic The report found that Thomas made a ruling in his own favor by allowing himself to use luxury jets, a mega yacht and stunning retreats all owned by the same real estate mogul.

He bought and helped restore Camp Topridge in the Adirondacks, tearing down some buildings and building new ones in the facility once owned by Marjorie Merriweather Post.

A friend of the Bush family, Crow is a trustee of the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Texas and also supports the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

He is a member of the Most High Court Historical Society, though he said in a statement that he has never done business in Thomas’ court.

Crow has not been a party to a Supreme Court lawsuit, but has been involved with two conservative groups involved in filing supporting orders in cases coming before the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has gone on weekly vacations with real estate magnate Harlan Crow, including an adventure to Indonesia aboard a mega yacht and private jet

Besides politics, Crow has taken a particular interest in history — the backyard of his $24 million Dallas residence is dominated by old statues of dictators he’s collected from fallen regimes, including Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin, according to the New York Times.

Powerful judge Thomas, who has found new influence on the 6-3 Conservative court, has been accepting the “hospitality” of real estate billionaire Harlan Crow for more than 20 years, enjoying luxury vacations and transportation that he couldn’t afford in his own car . $285,000 per annual salary.

This includes touring Indonesia’s Pacific waters on a 50-foot superyacht equipped with multiple decks that comes with a crew and a private chef in 2019, according to the report from journalism nonprofit ProPublica.

The jet seats 16 and its “advanced wing design makes for a quiet flight and a smooth ride,” according to promotional material.

Thomas also made a trip to New Zealand on Crow’s yacht about ten years ago. Afterwards, Thomas gave a yacht worker a copy of his memoir and signed it: “Thank you so much for all your hard work during our New Zealand adventure.”

Thomas has been a regular guest at Crow’s Adirondacks resort, Camp Topridge, which was once owned by the state of New York for use by the governor, but was sold due to high maintenance costs. According to the report, he usually goes for a week every summer. The retreat was built by heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post.

It’s all part of a long-standing friendship that began after Thomas joined the Supreme Court following his controversial post-nomination confirmation by President George HW Bush.

To keep up with the outdoor theme, Thomas has also traveled with Crow to the exclusive Bohemian Grove retreat in Sonoma, California, where presidents including Ronald Reagan and Richard Nixon have gone.

Thomas has not disclosed the trips. The Supreme Court, unlike other federal courts, does not subject its members to an official code of conduct — although Chief Justice John Roberts has urged judges to consult it for guidance.

Thomas and his wife Ginny didn’t have to worry about commercial flights for the nine-day trip, which included traveling aboard a private jet, a Bombardier Global 5000. That brought the cost of the expedition to $500,000, if the Justice Department has it. self-paid, according to the nonprofit’s analysis.

Crow issued a lengthy statement in response to the new revelations about the extent of his journey with Thomas.

“My wife Kathy and I have been friends with Judge Thomas and his wife Ginni since 1996. We are very good friends,” he said.

“The hospitality we have extended to the Thomas’s over the years is no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends,” he said.

“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. More generally, I am not aware that any of our friends have ever lobbied or tried to influence Judge Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had the intention of doing so, he continued.

He called the trips “gatherings of friends.”