A Two-Year Investigation Reveals Luxury Travel by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
A 93-page report released on Saturday details nearly two years of investigations by Democratic senators into the ethics of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, revealing additional luxury travel taken by him in 2021 that was not reported on his annual financial disclosure form. The report is the result of an investigation into the financial connections between Justice Thomas and rich benefactors, and the travel was taken in the form of a private jet flight to New York’s Adirondacks in July and a jet and yacht trip to New York City sponsored by billionaire Harlan Crow in October.
The report found that Justice Thomas has accepted gifts and travel from wealthy donors worth over $4.75 million since his confirmation in 1991 and failed to disclose much of it. The investigation also uncovered evidence that Justice Samuel Alito took a luxury trip to Alaska in 2008 and was exempted from disclosing the trip under previous ethical rules. Additionally, the report noted that Justice Sonia Sotomayor has advanced the sales of her books through college visits, and that Justices have heard cases involving their book publishers or companies in which they owned stock.
The report highlights the need for a code of conduct for the Supreme Court and urges Congress to establish a way to enforce it. The Judiciary Committee Chair, Dick Durbin, expressed his concerns, stating, “The highest court in the land can’t have the lowest ethical standards.” However, the report is unlikely to lead to any changes, as Republicans prepare to take control of the Senate in January and are opposed to establishing a binding code of conduct.