Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has decided to stay mum as another investigative report reveals the extensive connections to wealth and extravagant vacations that he has obtained during his time on the bench.
The New York Times reports that Thomas has leveraged his relationships with the affluent through the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans, a scholarship organization, to benefit himself and his wife.
While Thomas, one of two Black justices on the bench, has claimed no wrongdoing in the past, each report has prompted concern from the public about his ethics.
“We do NOT have 3 equal branches of government. While all 3 can be bought and sold, the executive and legislative branches have some measure of checks and balances,” wrote an online reader of the expose. “Judicial has none. They can be bought and sold with impunity. Their decisions are not based on the Constitution — they are based on who gives them the most money to interpret the Constitution in their favor.”
The New York Times reports that Thomas has not disclosed many of the benefits and gifts he has received from his wealthy and well-connected allies, which goes beyond his association with Harlan Crow, a billionaire Republic megadonor.
Through his Horatio Alger connections, Thomas and his wife, Virginia, have received invitations to opulent vacations and parties, along with exclusive VIP access to sports events. The association also has provided Thomas with opportunities to mingle with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Ed McMahon during a lavish three-day birthday celebration for billionaire industrialist Dennis Washington in Montana.
“The Horatio Alger Association has been a home to Virginia and me,” Thomas stated when he received the association’s highest honor in 2010, adding that the association “has allowed me to see my dreams come true.”
Thomas’ contacts within the association, including Washington and investor David Sokol, formerly of Berkshire Hathaway, helped finance a documentary that portrayed him favorably after the release of an HBO film depicting Anita Hill making sexual harassment allegations against Thomas during his confirmation hearings.
The Sokol family also hosted the Thomases at their Montana ranch and waterfront estate in Florida.
On the flip side, Thomas hosts the Horatio Alger Association’s induction ceremony for new members in the Supreme Court’s courtroom, which is considered “unusual access” for an external group, according to The New York Times.
During the early years of his tenure on the Supreme Court, Thomas did disclose some personal gifts, including private plane flights, cigars and clothing. However, he stopped reporting certain gifts and benefits to the court after The Los Angeles Times covered his disclosures in 2004.
A recent ProPublica investigation unveiled the Thomases’ trips on Crow’s private jet and yacht, which amounted to tens of thousands of dollars, as well as Crow’s purchase of Thomas’ mother’s house. Crow even paid tuition for Thomas’ nephew, whom the Thomases were raising.
Thomas did defend his lack of disclosures regarding these benefits, claiming that he received advice from “colleagues and others in the judiciary” that he did not need to report trips of “personal hospitality” from friends.
While the court recently updated its disclosure rules to require justices to report private jet travel and complimentary stays at hotels and resorts, there is an exception for “personal hospitality” that includes food, accommodations, or entertainment unrelated to business.
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