June 9th 2024.
On June 7, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made a surprising admission in his financial disclosure filing. He confessed to neglecting to report two lavish vacations that were gifted to him by Dallas billionaire Republican, Harlan Crow. According to ABC News, these trips took place in 2019 and included a visit to Indonesia and a stay at the exclusive all-male retreat, Bohemian Grove, in northern California.
This disclosure came as a shock to many, as just last year Thomas argued that he was not required to report gifts of this nature, as reported by ProPublica. In fact, his lawyer had previously denied any wrongdoing, stating that the accusations of Thomas receiving gifts from wealthy friends were false.
However, in this new filing, Thomas acknowledged an amendment to his 2019 financial disclosure, admitting that he had "inadvertently omitted" the two trips. This is not the first time Thomas has been accused of failing to disclose luxury vacations and gifts. In fact, as previously reported by ProPublica, he has a history of not reporting such perks. Crow, in particular, has been known to gift Thomas with private jet flights, yacht cruises, and even pay for his relatives' private school tuition.
Thomas is not the only justice who has been flagged for questionable financial reports. Fellow Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson also made headlines for receiving a large advance for her upcoming memoir and tickets to a Beyoncé concert. However, legal experts are saying that Thomas may have broken the law by not properly disclosing the trips and gifts he received.
This ethical crisis involving Thomas and other justices has caused a decline in public approval of the court. In response, the court adopted a code of conduct for gift disclosure last year. By law, if there is "reasonable cause" to believe a justice intentionally omitted information from a report, the matter is supposed to be referred to the attorney general. However, no such referral has been made yet.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time Thomas has been in the spotlight for controversial remarks. In the past, he has made smug comments regarding former President Barack Obama. These incidents, along with the recent disclosure of his undisclosed gifts, have caused many to question his integrity and ethics.
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