Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed in a filing this week that he took three trips paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow after critics dinged him for not being upfront about his friendship and travel with the billionaire real estate mogul.
Unlike Justice Thomas, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. did not disclose any travel or hospitality in his 2022 public disclosure. He came under scrutiny in ProPublica’s reporting this year about a trip he took with billionaire Paul Singer. Justice Alito has said he was not required to disclose details of the vacation.
Other justices filed their disclosure before the end of the 2022 term in June, but Justices Thomas and Alito were given extensions on filing their financial disclosures amid reports and hearings on Capitol Hill about ethics.
Justice Thomas noted he took two trips to Dallas for speaking engagements for the conservative think tank American Enterprise Institute and one trip to New York, all paid for by Mr. Crow. The justice noted the travel by private plane was recommended for security reasons last year following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, which upended abortion rights.
The disclosure also noted his previous travel was not required to be reported until the Judicial Conference provided new rules in March for noting “personal hospitality.”
The disclosure comes as Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee passed legislation aimed at imposing a code of ethics on the high court. Unlike lower courts, the justices do not have a mandatory ethics code they follow.
The debate over standards for the high court came to the forefront after a series of articles accused some Republican-appointed justices of taking trips sponsored by wealthy people who may have business before the court.
Liberal activists have drawn broader contours with condemnations of the court‘s landmark rulings on abortion, gun rights and affirmative action, but they have struggled to find an outlet for their anger.
Calls to pack the Supreme Court with more members or impose term limits on justices have foundered, leaving activists itching to strike back at justices and pinning their hopes on ethics legislation.
In a party-line vote in July, Senate Democrats pushed legislation through the Judiciary Committee that would require the court to develop a code of ethics and a system to police the justices’ adherence. The justices would be prodded to better explain their decisions on whether to recuse themselves from hearing certain cases.
Given the close division of power in the Senate and the Republicans’ control of the House, Sen. John Kennedy, Louisiana Republican, said the Democrats’ bill is “as dead as fried chicken.”
Justice Thomas, the court‘s longest-serving member, has been the focus of scrutiny after ProPublica reported that Mr. Crow paid private school tuition at Hidden Lake Academy and Randolph-Macon Academy for Justice Thomas’ great-nephew. Justice Thomas took in the boy to raise from age 6.
The tuition total could have cost more than $150,000, according to ProPublica. Justice Thomas did not disclose the payments in his financial disclosure forms, and the news outlet suggested that he ran afoul of ethical standards required of federal judges on lower courts.
Other reports by ProPublica, The Washington Post and The New York Times questioned arrangements such as generous salaries for Republican-appointed justices to teach at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Justice Thomas defended his friendship with Mr. Crow, saying he consulted with colleagues about disclosure requirements and didn’t skirt any rules.
In June, Justice Alito published an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal rebutting a forthcoming piece accusing him of ethics violations.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the court generally follows the code of ethics binding on lower courts.
He said all justices must file disclosures for review by the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure and follow lower court policies on recusals. He noted that the system is flexible, given the composition of the high court.
He said the justices have faced increased threats and sometimes do not disclose travel arrangements for security reasons.
The chief justice has rebuffed Senate Democrats’ calls to testify to Congress. He said that would upset the balance of power. Instead, he submitted a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee with a statement of ethics principles and practices that the court follows. All nine current members signed it.
That statement laid out rules governing outside income, teaching and recusals. It noted that justices sometimes do not report travel because of security issues.
In their filings, Justice Thomas noted he and Ginni Thomas, his wife, have assets worth $1.2 million to $2.7 million. Justice Alito’s estimated assets are worth $2.8 million to $7.4 million.
House Republicans led by Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, said liberals have been targeting Justice Thomas for decades.
“The left has been out to get Justice Clarence Thomas for over 30 years. They started before he was even confirmed. Despite their baseless attacks, he has not stopped standing up for the rule of law and the Constitution. He is a threat to the radical progressives’ agenda because he openly defies them and he cannot be intimidated. We pray for Justice Thomas and his family and thank him for his decades of faithful service to our nation,” Mr. Jordan and his GOP colleagues, Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, said in a statement released Thursday.
Critics, though, jumped on the disclosures.
“It’s no surprise that Justice Thomas has kept up his decades-long cozy relationship with billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow with even more lavish jet rides and vacation reimbursements. For years, Thomas has used his position on our nation’s highest court as a way to upgrade his own lifestyle — and that hasn’t stopped,” said Kyle Herrig, senior adviser for the progressive group Accountable US.
He added, “It was Justice Thomas’ own decadeslong improper financial relationship with Harlan Crow that sparked the Supreme Court corruption crisis in the first place — and that was clearly just the tip of the iceberg. Harlan Crow, Justice Thomas, Leonard Leo and other key players in the growing Supreme Court corruption crisis may believe they exist above the law, but they don’t. We need accountability and reform now.”
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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