Clarence Thomas doesn’t seem to realize why a Supreme Court justice regularly accepting lavish gifts from a GOP megadonor, and then failing to report those gifts, is such a big deal.
“Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our 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,” the conservative justice said in a statement responding to a damning ProPublica report detailing how billionaire Harlan Crow has been treating Thomas to high-end vacations for decades. Thomas added that he was told he didn’t need to report “this sort of personal hospitality” and that he will adhere to new Judicial Conference guidelines in the future.
JUST IN #SCOTUS Justice Thomas issues statement on Propublica report on disclosures. pic.twitter.com/zFaWzHpmdt — Nicole (@nicninh) April 7, 2023
ProPublica revealed on Thursday that Thomas has been treated to private jet trips, superyacht rides, and stays at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks for years. Thomas has not disclosed these gifts, which could be a violation of federal law requiring such disclosure. Crow is a prominent Republican donor who sits on the board of multiple conservative organizations, and Thomas is one of the Supreme Court’s most conservative ideologues, and no stranger to ethical issues.
Democrats were outraged at the report, with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the committee “will act” in response. “Today’s report demonstrates, yet again, that Supreme Court Justices must be held to an enforceable code of conduct, just like every other federal judge,” he wrote in a statement. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called for an investigation. “This cries out for the kind of independent investigation that the Supreme Court — and only the Supreme Court, across the entire government — refuses to perform,” he wrote on Twitter.
House Democrats were no less upset. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) said that Thomas must be impeached before telling The Lever later on Thursday that if no one else bring articles of impeachment against the rich-living justice, she’ll do it herself. Trending Chris Tyson, MrBeast Sidekick, Reveals Gender Journey on Social Media Companies That Get 'Woke' Aren't Going Broke — They're More Profitable Than Ever SNL Mocks Arrested Trump, Who Compares Himself to Jesus on Easter SNL: Bowen Yang’s Gay Jafar Roasts Ron DeSantis Over Disney Beef
🚨NEWS: On LEVER TIME, @AOC says House Dems must file articles of impeachment against Clarence Thomas, and says she will draft them if others do not step up.
Subscribe at https://t.co/dxB3ltOFhG to add the show to your podcast app. pic.twitter.com/qXeB4u3wRg — The Lever (@LeverNews) April 6, 2023
“I think this is an emergency. I think this is a crisis,” she said. “I think we’ve had a crisis for some time on the Supreme Court … If no one is going to introduce [articles of impeachment], I would certainly be open to doing so and drafting them myself. I think this has gone far, far beyond any sort of acceptable standard in any democracy, let alone in American democracy.”
checker280 on April 9th, 2023 at 14:46 UTC »
Apparently there’s a video by Thomas where he claims he and Ginni are into the RV life - that they prefer the Walmart parking lot because of the honesty.
Right up until I saw that, it could be argued that he was doing nothing more than accepting the generosity of a close family friend. (I ain’t defending the guy, just saying while they could argue that - but no one would believe him!)
But the video is the final nail in the coffin.
““I don’t have any problem with going to Europe, but I prefer the United States, and I prefer seeing the regular parts of the United States,” Thomas said in a recent interview for a documentary about his life, which Crow helped finance.
“I prefer the RV parks. I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal to me about it,” Thomas said. “I come from regular stock, and I prefer that — I prefer being around that.”
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/04/clarence-thomas-luxury-vacations-walmart-parking-lot.html
I believe Anita Hill and always knew he was a liar.
StayYou61 on April 9th, 2023 at 14:38 UTC »
Good ethics say that a judge should avoid even the appearance of impropriety. This is especially true if you are one of the highest jurors in the land. Whatever happened to leading by example?
freddie_merkury on April 9th, 2023 at 14:35 UTC »
If it was one of the more liberal supreme court justices that did this, everyone would agree that they should be impeached and replaced.
Tell me again how both sides are the same.