Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took even more undisclosed trips: Senate Democrats
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Continue two more times trip powered by Texas billionaire and conservative donor Harlan Crow than he previously disclosed, according to a 20-month report led by Senate Democrats. investigation into ethical practices at the Supreme Court was announced on Saturday. Thomas did not include the trips on his previous financial forms and, according to the commission, only learned about them after threatening Crow with a subpoena.
The Democratic staff of the Judiciary Committee concluded their investigation with a 93-page report. report—along with some 800 pages of documents — delve into what they describe as the “moral crisis” created by the court itself.
In a statement after the report was published on Saturday, Michael ZonaCrow’s spokesman denounced the investigation as “political, partisan and unconstitutional from the start” and argued that his client had “voluntarily” turned over the information.
Crow’s additional cash trips are one of “a handful of new revelations in a report that summarizes much of the information about the large sum of money accepted by the judges — and its failure to disclose it — that has been made public.” ,” New York Times‘ Charlie is savage report.
Two previously undisclosed trips — one where Thomas flew on Crow’s private jet from Nebraska to Saranac, NY for a five-day retreat at one of the billionaire’s mansions, and another where justice took place spent the night on Crow’s yacht after flying from Washington, D.C. to New Jersey for the unveiling of a statue — both of which took place in 2021. The recently announced itinerary is the latest revelation against Thomas, who has been criticized for allegedly having receive gifts worth millions of dollars.
According to the Judiciary Committee report, Thomas accepted lavish gifts from wealthy benefactors, “some of whom had business before the Court and nearly all of whom were meeting Thomas for the first time.” first after he joined the Court,” since his confirmation in 1991.
“The number, value, and extravagance of the gifts received by Judge Thomas have no parallel in the modern history of the United States,” the report said.
After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia in 2016 during a free stay at another businessman’s Texas hunting lodge, members of the Supreme Court have come under increased scrutiny over how they disclose —or not—these types of gifts. That scrutiny increased exponentially when in the spring of 2023, ProPublica release a series of investigations into Justice Thomas and Crow’s decades-long relationship.
Based on flight records, internal documents distributed to Crow’s staff and interviews with dozens of people “from staff on his superyacht to members of the secret Bohemian Club to an Indonesian scuba diving instructor,” ProPublica found that “Crow’s access to justice extended to anyone the businessman chose to invite along” including “corporate executives and political activists”. (As reported by ProPublica, this past summer, Thomas modify His financial disclosure for 2019 includes other trips related to Crow, writing that he “inadvertently omitted” them in his previous reports.)
