Source: Alex Wong / Getty
Supreme Scandal: Unveiling The Perks Of Clarence Thomas’ Secret Gifts
What we KNOW: SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas thinks it’s morally okay to receive millions of secret financial gifts from a reported Hitler-highlighting MAGA mega-donor…whew!
What we JUST LEARNED: Aside from defending luxurious gifts from billionaire and alleged Nazi memorabilia collector Harlan Crow, Thomas accepted the majority of the $5 million all SCOTUS Justices publicly received.
According to The Hill, supremely sunken Thomas accepted a WHOPPING $4 million.
Is This An Honest Friendship To Trust?
Source: Alex Wong / Getty
BOSSIP previously reported that Justice Clarence Thomas, w significant figure in the Supreme Court since his nomination by former President George H.W. Bush, defended the gifts by emphasizing his long-term friendship with Crow. Thomas further justified his actions by stating that he had sought guidance early in his tenure on the Court.
“Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years… As friends do, we have joined them on aseveralfamily trips during the more than quarter century we have known them,” Thomas explained.
If these trips were “nothing more than personal hospitality from close friends,” why did it take news outlets so long to uncover what is lawfully supposed to be public record? This unethical behavior coming to the limelight years later further just exposes the gravity of this predicament. And this is only one of many contested conflicts of interest for Thomas.
Wow… That’s Some Expensive Hospitality
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The unreported gifts from Crow included lavish trips on his private jet and superyacht, which is estimated to cost over $500,000 if chartered independently. The Hill states that in 2004 data collected by ‘Fix the Court’, “Thomas accepted $4,042,286, or 193 gifts.” Allegedly, there are an unconfirmed 126 more of these gifts, and we can only wonder what price tags those carry.
Why did Thomas only report 27?
Thomas’ dear friend, Harlan Crow, defended his actions by asserting that his hospitality extended to the Thomases was no different from what he offered to his other friends.
What a friendship…
Media Coverage & Public Outcry For Justice Thomas To Resign
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Democrats and legal experts have voiced concerns over Thomas’s ability to interpret and follow basic codes of conduct. There are growing demands for stricter judiciary oversight to prevent potential corruption.
The Hill states that this scandal has sparked a statement by Fix the Court’s Gabe Roth.
“Supreme Court justices should not be accepting gifts, let alone the hundreds of freebies worth millions of dollars they’ve received over the years… Public servants who make four times the median local salary, and who can make millions writing books on any topic they like, can afford to pay for their own vacations, vehicles, hunting excursions and club memberships.”
Roth argued that the ethics crisis at the court would not abate until stricter gift acceptance rules were adopted.
Who wouldn’t agree more?
Other Justices’ Gifts: Let’s Compare
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The watchdog group also highlighted gifts received by other justices. Fix the Court documents:
Justice Antonin Scalia received $210,164 in gifts from January 2004 until his death in 2016 (the second-highest recipient)
Justice Samuel Alito received $170,095 from January 31, 2006, to the present day (the third-most gifts)
All these numbers and things still aren’t adding up in the US government system. Many platforms are demanding reform. BOSSIP continues to update this story.
