Far-right Justice Clarence Thomas has been controversial throughout his 33 years on the U.S. Supreme Court, from Anita Hill's sexual harassment allegations during his Senate confirmation hearings in 1991 to ProPublica's reporting on generous gifts he has accepted from billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow. Thomas has also drawn a great deal of criticism for his wife Ginni Thomas' support of efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Justice Thomas and his supporters have maintained that he committed no ethics violations when he accepted generous gifts from Crow, and he has offered explanations about the gifts. But according to the Daily Beast's Steve Lubet, the justice has contradicted himself badly.
"None of the Crow-financed lavish vacations were disclosed as gifts on Thomas' annual financial reports, required by statute of all federal judges," Lubet writes in an op-ed published on June 12. "Confronted by the obvious omissions, Thomas issued a rare public statement defending the nondisclosures of 'family trips' with his 'dearest friends.' Early in his service on the Court, he explained, he was advised by his colleagues that 'this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable,' adding, 'I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure.'"
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Lubet continues, "In other words, the exclusions were intentional.… But that was then. Just last week, Thomas filed an amendment to his 2019 financial disclosure to include an Indonesian vacation taken with Crow, this time saying that the information had been 'inadvertently omitted at the time of filing.'"
The Daily Beast journalist emphasizes that these "two explanations" from Justice Thomas "cannot both be true."
"Either Thomas had intentionally excluded Crow's largesse because he believed it to be 'unreportable,' or he had somehow 'inadvertently' — Hastily? Carelessly? — forgotten to include it," Lubet argues. "As a cross-examiner might ask, was he fooling us then, or is he fooling us now?"
The Daily Beast reporter notes that Justice Thomas' amended disclosure only lists "food and lodging" for one night in a Bali hotel but doesn't mention transportation.
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"If there is some principle by which the hotel stay is reportable and travel to, from, and during the vacation is a secret," Lubet observes, "Thomas did not mention it…. When it comes to his financial disclosures…. it is all omission, contradiction, and obfuscation. Which raises the question: How gullible does he think we are?"
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Steven Lubet's full Daily Beast op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).
