A new report by ProPublica claims Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been accepting and not reporting pretty lavish gifts of travel and lodging from a Republican megadonor. Justices are not held to many ethics rules, as Justice Thomas has repeatedly demonstrated in recent years, however, this sounds beyond "unethical."
Thomas' benefactor, Mr. Harlan Crow, wants us all to know there is nothing shady going on here, tho.
Thomas typically spends about a week each summer at Topridge, Crow's private lakeside resort in the Adirondacks, and flight records show he has used Crow's plane numerous times, according to the news outlet.
In 2019, shortly after the court shared its final opinion of the term, Clarence and Ginni Thomas took off on Crow's private jet for a nine-day vacation in Indonesia aboard the donor's yacht — a trip that cost more than $500,000, according to ProPublica.
Supreme Court justices are constrained by fewer ethical restrictions than lower rungs of the judiciary. Some groups have called to implement a code of ethics for the high court.
But justices still submit financial disclosures, and experts say they are required to disclose all gifts valued at more than $415. While there are exceptions to that requirement, transportation is not one of them.
