Current:Home > ContactJustice Clarence Thomas reports he took 3 trips on Republican donor’s plane last year -Elevate Profit Vision
Justice Clarence Thomas reports he took 3 trips on Republican donor’s plane last year
View
Date:2025-04-20 17:23:15
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is acknowledging that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
It’s the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. In a report made public Thursday, the 75-year-old justice said he was complying with new guidelines from the federal judiciary for reporting travel, but did not include any earlier travel at Crow’s expense, including a 2019 trip in Indonesia aboard the yacht owned by the wealthy businessman and benefactor of conservative causes.
The filing comes amid a heightened focus on ethics at the high court that stems from a series of reports revealing that Thomas has for years received undisclosed expensive gifts, including international travel, from Crow.
Crow also purchased the house in Georgia where Thomas’s mother continues to live and paid for two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Thomas and his wife, Ginni.
The reporting by the investigative news site ProPublica also revealed that Justice Samuel Alito failed to disclose a private trip to Alaska he took in 2008 that was paid for by two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests before the court.
The Associated Press also reported in July that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, aided by her staff, has advanced sales of her books through college visits over the past decade.
FILE - Associate Justice Clarence Thomas joins other members of the Supreme Court as they pose for a new group portrait, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. Thomas is acknowledging that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow. It’s the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Supreme Court justices do not have a binding code of ethics and have resisted the idea that they adopt one or have one imposed on them by Congress. In the spring, all nine justices recently signed a statement of ethics that Chief Justice John Roberts provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Roberts has acknowledged that the justices can do more to address ethical concerns.
But neither the statement nor Roberts’ comments assuaged Senate Democrats. The Democratic-controlled committee approved an ethics code for the court in July on a party-line vote. The legislation has little chance of passing the Senate — it would need at least nine GOP votes, and Republicans have strongly opposed it — or the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.
One trip Thomas reported was to Crow’s lodge in the Adironack Mountains in upstate New York, where the investigative news site ProPublica has reported that Thomas visits every year.
The other two trips were to Dallas, where he spoke at conferences sponsored by the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
FILE - Associate Justice Samuel Alito joins other members of the Supreme Court as they pose for a new group portrait, Oct. 7, 2022, at the Supreme Court building in Washington. The annual financial reports for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Alito were released Thursday, Aug. 31, 2023, nearly three months after those of the other seven justices. Thomas and Alito were granted 90-day extensions. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Thomas noted that court officials recommended that he avoid commercial travel for one of the trips, in mid-May, because of concerns about the justices’ security following the leak of the court’s draft abortion opinion that overturned Roe v. Wade.
The justice also belatedly acknowledged that Crow had purchased the home in Savannah, Georgia, where Thomas’ mother still lives. Thomas and other family members owned the house, along with two neighboring properties. The sale was completed in 2014, but Thomas said he erroneously thought he didn’t have to report it because “this sale resulted in a capital loss.”
In reporting that he and his wife have assets worth $1.2 million to $2.7 million, Thomas also corrected several other mistakes from earlier reports. These include the omission of accounts at a credit union that last year were worth $100,000 to $250,000 and a life insurance policy in his wife’s name that was valued at less than $100,000.
Thomas is considering whether to amend prior reports, he noted.
The annual financial reports for Thomas and Alito were released Thursday, nearly three months after those of the other seven justices. Thomas and Alito were granted 90-day extensions.
Alito reported assets worth $2.8 million to $7.4 million. While most of his holdings are in mutual funds, Alito retains shares of stocks in energy and other companies that sometimes force his withdrawal from Supreme Court cases.
Alito, in an unusual column in the Wall Street Journal, said he was under no obligation to report the Alaska trip or step aside from any cases involving the benefactor.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Get a Mess-Free Tan in 1 Hour and Save 63% On Tan-Luxe Self-Tanning Mousse
- Russian lobbies to be part of potential prisoner swap for Evan Gershkovich, Paul Whelan
- Love Is Blind's Micah Apologizes For Controversial Behavior on the Show
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Why Adam Sandler Is “Psyched” for Jennifer Aniston’s Future Partner
- Behati Prinsloo Shares Photo of How Baby No. 3 Will Be Loved By Her and Adam Levine’s Daughters
- Rihanna Shares Glimpse at Her Delicious Pregnancy Cravings That Will Make Your Mouth Water
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Ukrainian military chief hints that counteroffensive could be coming soon
Ranking
- Former Syrian official arrested in California who oversaw prison charged with torture
- Kerry Washington Unveils Memoir Cover and Shares How She Got in Touch With Her True Self
- The Bachelor's Zach Shallcross Admits Finale Drama With Gabi Elnicki Was Really Painful
- Blinken planning to travel to China soon for high-level talks
- Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
- Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's Daughter Bella Shows Off Hair Transformation in Rare Selfie
- For the first time, more money is going into solar power than oil
- Louisiana teen Cameron Robbins missing after going overboard on Bahamas cruise during graduation trip
Recommendation
The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
Jennifer Aniston Responds to Claims That Friends Is Offensive
Doja Cat Claps Back Over Plastic Surgery Confessions
Why These Photos of Euphoria's Jacob Elordi Have the Internet Buzzing
Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
Scientists claim remarkable evidence that ancient human relatives buried their dead 240,000 years ago
Jeremy Renner Shares How 10-Year-Old Daughter Ava Has Healed Him After Accident
China declines invitation to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin