Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas slammed a hit piece from a left-wing publication this week that sought to portray him as being corrupt because he vacationed with a close friend who paid for the trips.
ProPublica reported that Thomas accepted paid travel expenses — including flights, staying on a yacht, and other accommodations — from real estate magnate and billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow. The report acknowledged that those who were interviewed for the report confirmed that the men were “genuine friends.”
Thomas has accepted the gifts for decades, the report said, before admitting that “there are few restrictions on what gifts justices can accept.”
“That’s in contrast to the other branches of government,” the report added. “Members of Congress are generally prohibited from taking gifts worth $50 or more and would need pre-approval from an ethics committee to take many of the trips Thomas has accepted from Crow.”
Thomas responded to the story in a statement, saying that Harlan and Kathy Crow were some of his and his wife’s “dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years.”
“As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them,” Thomas said. “Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable. I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.”
“These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance,” he added. “And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future.”
Crow told the publication that the “hospitality” that he extended to the Thomases was “no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends” and that they never asked for any of it.
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Crow said that he and his wife have never discussed judicial matters with Thomas and that they have “never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue.”
The trips often included many other people beside the Thomases, and Crow said that he would “never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of” trying to lobby Thomas for judicial or political matters.
“These are gatherings of friends,” Crow confirmed.