Justice Clarence Thomas has secretly accepted luxury trips from a major Republican donors

Imagine an investigation that exposes Justice Kagan receiving similar gifts for simliar duration from a major Democratic donor, which turns out to be Soros, who claims in a legalized letter to be a very close and dear friend of hers.

 

What a shock the party of pedophilia, grifters, conmen, gay people in the closet who criticize other gays, liars, cheats and hypocrits.

The ME only selfish party.....not a shock at all.

DD

 

Political divisions without prosecuting those at the top is like the left hand washing the right hand.

Open kleptocracy has been running for a good generation. You could even say since Reagan, but it's less obvious without the internet.

 

Literally - not one single second.

 

Yeah your little Twitter guy seemed to overlook the relevant part...

"The personal hospitality gift reporting exemption applies only to food,
lodging, or entertainment and is intended to cover such gifts of a personal,
non-business nature. Therefore, the reporting exemption does not include:

• gifts other than food, lodging or entertainment, such as transportation that
substitutes for commercial transportation

So ummm how about those flights on Crow's private plane when Crow wasn't even on the plane?

 

Also, the fact that supposedly they are good friends make it less of a conflict of interest and undue influence?

It is really a bizarre tactic to take for defense.

 

What is the procedure to make this type of behavior against the rules?

 

Perhaps one needs to be legislated/amended.

 

Thomas is the most ethical supreme court justice in American history

 

Hahhahahahahaaha!

 

hes controversial and I don't agree with his takes but its never this ok to be racist to a black man in recent history.

Democrats salvate at the thought of using "uncle tom" and the n word quietly when they see a black conservative. Just look at this thread!

 

You are bringing in a different issue. It is never okay to be racist to a black man. The more clear cut example is what happened in Tennessee today. Not anything directed toward Thomas in this thread.

 

They are - but this is on Thomas.

Influence always exists, especially in the legal forums across the country… it’s not unusual for relationships to exist outside of court and power and politics to play a part in decisions that are a toss up.

The fact that conservative private citizens, owners of corporations and heads of right wing causes are friendly with Thomas or even pay him for actual “work” isn’t surprising… it has LONG happened in the Court, especially in a Good Ole Boys Club like the SCOTUS…. What IS surprising is how brazen and frequent it is with Thomas - and that is on him and shows entitlement and arrogance and confidence none of it will matter - as he is above the law….

 

Completely Agree!

Signed,
The pubic hair Thomas left on Anita Hill’s Coke can

 

Keep your wide stance to yourself, big boy.

 

Lol, I hate to tell you this, but taking bribes for decisions is the definition of corruption


You can defend him all you want. But when you take free trips from political organizations or people affiliated strongly with those organizations, you're breaking ethics. Such a person should not be a judge on the nations highest court.

He should be impeached immediately if he doesn't have the integrity to resign.

 

Clarence Thomas says trips paid for by billionaire were 'personal hospitality,' not business

Thomas issued a statement in response to a ProPublica report about trips he took that were paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow

WASHINGTON — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday explained his failure to disclose trips paid for by a friend, conservative billionaire Harlan Crow.

Thomas said in a statement that Crow and his wife, Kathy, are "dearest friends" and that he and his wife have joined them on family trips for years.



"Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable," Thomas said.

"I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," he added.

Thomas, once of the court's six conservative justices, noted that he would comply with changes made to disclosure rules that were announced last month. Those revisions made it clear that trips on private jets and stays at privately owned resorts like one Crow owns in upstate New York would have to be disclosed.

The change to disclosure rules tightened an exemption for "personal hospitality" that was not strictly defined.

That tweak was made just weeks before a ProPublica article published Thursday detailed extravagant trips that Thomas took that were funded by Crow.



Thomas did not disclose these trips — reportedly including travel on Crow’s private jet and visits to the resort — on his annual financial disclosure statements. Under the rules that existed until recently, he may not have been required to.

The “personal hospitality” exemption means judges and justices don’t have to disclose certain gifts, including accommodations and food, when the person involved is a friend. The new interpretation made it clear that travel by private jet and stays at resort-type facilities owned by private entities have to be disclosed.

Thomas has been the focus of much scrutiny in recent months, largely driven by the actions of his wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, including her support for former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. Thomas himself faced criticism for failing to step aside from cases involving Trump and the election.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority has angered liberals by dramatically shifting American law to the right, most notably with its ruling last year that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that said women had a constitutional right to obtain abortions.

The latest developments have renewed calls for Supreme Court justices to adopt an ethics code of conduct similar to the one that binds lower court judges.

Among other things, that code requires judges to “avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.” If judges breach the code, they can be investigated and reprimanded through a separate complaint process.

The justices say they follow the spirit of the code, introduced in 1973, but they have never formally adopted one of their own. There is also no procedure that allows for complaints to be investigated short of the drastic step of impeachment.

Members of Congress have introduced legislation requiring the justices to adopt a code, although there are questions as to whether it could be enforced.

 

kudos for image selection ^ ... if nothing else.

 

You've perfected your Drumpf impersonation -- that's really fantastic.

Indeed, Trump steaks are the best steaks, he was the most unfairly treated President in the history of the universe, and Thomas is the most ethical supreme court justice ever since the Big Bang. (All items sold separately, only at the Sharper's Image.)

 

Thomas once believed in public disclosures, but later he said, 'F U, I'm Supreme,' and there's nothing you can do to me. He would be right. The Supreme Court needs reform.

After an L.A. Times story on Thomas' gifts, he stopped disclosing - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)

It was 2004 when the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted expensive gifts and private plane trips paid for by Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas real estate investor and a prominent Republican donor.

The gifts included a Bible that once belonged to abolitionist Frederick Douglass — a gift Thomas valued at $19,000 — and a bust of Abraham Lincoln valued at $15,000.

“I just knew he was a fan of Frederick Douglass, and I saw that item come available at an auction and I bought it for him,” Crow explained at the time.

He also flew Thomas on his personal plane to Northern California to be his guest at the Bohemian Grove, which held all-male retreats for government and business leaders.

Thomas refused to comment on the article, but it had an impact: Thomas appears to have continued accepting free trips from his wealthy friend. But he stopped disclosing them.

...