Five congressional Democrats have asked U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over gifts he reportedly received from conservative billionaires.
The letter (pdf), dated Aug. 11, was signed by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.).
After left-wing media outlet ProPublica published a series of reports in recent months, the lawmakers urged the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) “to launch an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for consistently failing to report significant gifts he received from Harlan Crow and other billionaires for nearly two decades—in defiance of his duty under federal law.”
The most recent ProPublica report, which was published Aug. 10, stated that Justice Thomas “has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.”
The report listed at least “38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.”
Undisclosed Trips
The largesse bestowed on Justice Thomas, which reportedly includes “several million dollars” in undisclosed trips since he joined the court in 1991, has provided him “a lifestyle far beyond what his income could provide.”
Democrats take issue in particular with the report that Mr. Crow, a wealthy Republican donor, gave Justice Thomas luxurious vacations, provided tuition support for a grandnephew he raised, and purchased low-dollar real estate from the justice’s family.
The letter stated that Justice Thomas has received “numerous undisclosed valuable gifts from Harlan Crow over the course of at least fifteen years, despite certifying repeatedly that his financial disclosure forms are ‘accurate, true, and complete,’ in certifications ‘subject to civil and criminal sanctions.’”
