Despite demands Clarence Thomas ditch his black robes (and any white ones with matching hoods), he defended secret gifts from billionaire Nazi memorabilia collector Harlan Crow.
Source: OLIVIER DOULIERY / Getty
With SCOTUS additions like allegedly unethical Brett Kavanaugh, grossly unqualified Amy Coney Barrett, and absurdly overdue Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas slipped under the radar. All that changed when an exposé revealed a MAGA megadonor lavished Justice Thomas with expensive trips and gifts for years.
The same people demanding that books about racism and the Holocaust be removed from schools are claiming that Clarence Thomas‘s sugar daddy having hitler’s art and an autographed copy of Mein Kampf is purely for memorium.
— Howard ✡ (@HowardA_AtLaw) April 9, 2023
Newsweek reports Thomas responded to the unreported luxury gifts for him and his insurrection-encouraging wife Ginni. What’s a decade or three of multimillion dollars between friends? Nothing to see here!
“Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five yearsAs friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them,” Thomas explained.
“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.”
Nothing says “personal hospitality” like regular getaways on Crow’s massive private jet and 162-foot superyacht. According to ProPublica’s bombshell report, the value of Thomas chartering those himself would cost more than $500,000.
Crow sits on the board of AEI, which lobbies against tax hikes on billionaires and writes briefs to Justice Thomas. Crow lavished millions in gifts on Thomas. Is this corrupt? Probably.
Does it have the appearance of corruption? Absolutely.
Justice Thomas needs to resign. https://t.co/8Inbf9r2j3 pic.twitter.com/uMFjSyKzfh
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) April 9, 2023
Crow responded, claiming he never flew out the Thomases to influence “pending or lower court case and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue.”
“The hospitality we have extended to the Thomas’s over the years is no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends,” his statement said.
“We have been most fortunate to have a great life of many friends and financial success, and we have always placed a priority on spending time with our family and friends. Justice Thomas and Ginni never asked for any of this hospitality.”
How is it that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas didn’t know he had to disclose the lavish gifts he received? And how come Ginni Thomas has not been held accountable for emailing Republicans in swing states in her effort to overturn Joe Biden’s victory over Donald J. Trump? pic.twitter.com/Bw4Nv3wuSb
— Alice Williams 💙 🫏🇺🇦 (@williams95alice) April 9, 2023
Clarence Thomas’ Beloved Buddy Harlan Crow Raised More Questions With Collection Of Nazi Artifacts
The more information comes out about their conservative cavorting, the worse it looks for the inheritor of Thurgood Marshall’s seat. The Washingtonian revealed Crow’s hospitality comes with a heaping helping of Hitler.
ALSO, what Clarence Thomas is too egotistical and too stupid to understand is that he is simply another artifact in Crow’s degradation collection. Thomas’ entire existence as a justice was for Republicans to demoralize African Americans and spit on Marshall’s legacy. https://t.co/LwLbMEGLja
— Cheryl Lynn Eaton (@cheryllynneaton) April 9, 2023
Past visitors to the billionaire’s sprawling Texas ranch “still can’t get over the collection of Nazi memorabilia.” He has a collection of artifacts from other cold-blooded colonizers like Christopher Columbus and George Washington.
Oh, please.
If you’re smoking cigars with Leonard Leo and other right-wing fixers, you should know they don’t just have business before the Court — their business IS the Court.https://t.co/y1JQ9Tckmu
— Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) April 7, 2023
However, procuring an autographed copy of Mein Kampf sends a disgustingly deliberate message. As does his choice to display a portrait of Thomas on the same walls as Hitler’s paintings.
Regardless of Thomas and Crow thinking they did anything wrong, Democrats and legal experts disagree. This latest scandal only strengthens demands for stricter judiciary oversight to prevent corruption. The outcome of any hearings or attempts to impeach relies on courts already stacked from decades of GOP gerrymandering.
If Thomas can’t be trusted to appropriately interpret and follow basic codes of conduct, why should he rule in the highest court in the land?
