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Previously undisclosed trips by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and wealthy friend Harlan Crow have been unearthed.
It’s the latest in questionable practices by the justice who has taken millions in gifts and benefits from Republican friends - but has been defiant in his refusal to leave the bench or step down from cases with a potential conflict of interest.
The New York Times revealed Monday that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oreg.) detailed in a letter a previously undisclosed trip Thomas and his wife, Virginia, took on Crow’s private jet between Hawaii and New Zealand.
The letter was written to Crow’s attorney demanding more information about the relationship between Crow and the justice.
“I am deeply concerned that Mr. Crow may have been showering a public official with extravagant gifts, then writing off those gifts to lower his tax bill,” Wyden wrote in the letter.
Wyden, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, is spearheading the investigation into Crow and Thomas. Democrats - including President Joe Biden - have called for massive Supreme Court reforms including a code of Ethics and term limits.
Thomas did not respond to the Times’s request for comment on the letter.
The justice, first appointed by George H. W. Bush in 1991, has recently faced a firestorm as details of his gifts and concerns about his and wife’s political leanings have become public.
Virginia, known as Ginni, has been under the microscope since it was revealed she pleaded with officials to overturn the results of the 2020 election where Biden defeated Republican Donald Trump.
Thomas received $2.4m in gifts between January 2004 and December 2023, according to a report. That was compared to his other eight colleagues on the Supreme Court, who received a combined $600,000 in gifts in that same span.
Many of the gifts were not detailed on the required disclosure forms.
Texas-born Crow is a real estate mogul and a major donor to conservative efforts. He has been connected to many gifts and benefits to Thomas, which have raised questions about whether Thomas can be impartial in some cases.
So far, Thomas has not given any indication he is willing to recuse himself from such cases.
Thomas said he did not believe he needed to disclose the gifts of personal hospitality from friends who had no cases before the country’s highest court. However, federal law requires disclosures from each justice.
A spokesman for Crow told the Times the businessman had already responded to the senator’s investigation and the letter was to “harass a private citizen.”
“We consider this matter settled and refer Senator Wyden to our previous correspondence,” the statement to the Times read.
The newest alleged trip was not included on Thomas’ 2010 disclosure, according to the Times.
“To date, Justice Thomas has never disclosed this private jet travel on any financial disclosure forms, even though Justice Thomas has amended disclosures to reflect other international travel on Mr. Crow’s private jet,” the senator noted in the letter.
Wyden also stated that Thomas and Crow went on trips to Greece, Russia and the Baltics - none of which were reported on disclosure forms.
The letter claims Crow has refused to provide all information on travels with Thomas and it was a “final opportunity” to disclose the information.
