Back in 2004 the LA Times reported that Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas had been accepting lavish vacations for years from his billionaire "dear friend" Harlan Crow. These vacations seemingly stopped after that, but a few days ago we learned that, in fact, Thomas had merely stopped disclosing them.
This was all "personal hospitality," which Thomas insists is entirely legal and fine. Maybe so.
But it turns out Thomas also accepted free rides on Crow's private jet and didn't disclose those either. That's rather more of a problem, no?
Finally, today, another shoe dropped. ProPublica reports that a few years ago Crow bought some of Thomas's property in Savannah at what looks to be a considerably inflated price. One of the properties is the house Thomas's mother lives in. Crow upgraded it significantly; tore down the annoying party house next door; and doesn't appear to be charging Thomas's mother any rent. Thomas disclosed none of this.
Who knows? Maybe there are innocent explanations for Thomas's silence. But I doubt it. It has all the appearance of plain old lawbreaking. Thomas was required to disclose all this but instead chose to keep it hidden. Why? And what does the Supreme Court intend to do about it?
I know the answers to the last two questions:
o Because he's cheap.
o Nothing.
1) Not because he's cheap, but because he thinks he's above the rules. He's behaved like this for decades. He seems to think that because he had such a shitty childhood, which he seems to have embellished at times (and he's clearly a narcissist to some degree), the world owes him this kind of shit.
2) Nothing.
To be fair, 32 years ago, as a penultimate step to him being granted a lifetime appointment to a hyper-elite governmental instutition comprising the most powerful court to ever exist on planet Earth, he did have an embarrassing confirmation hearing. Can you even imagine that emotional chasm that must exist in his soul after such terrible, terrible mistreatment?
Who among us has suffered so much? Who among us can truly judge such a one, driven by such a deep psychic pain that can only be assuaged by the innocent soothing balm of millions of dollars worth of gifts from a billionaire nazi memorabilia collector?
(The answer, of course, is Justice Kavanaugh, whose own painful confirmation hearing no doubt caused just such an emotional scar. Would that PJ and Squi were themselves fabulously wealthy, and could fill Kavanaugh's void with monetary largess, as Harlan Crow has selflessly done for Thomas!)
I believe you’re forgetting the self-described most persecuted person in the history of our nation.
"I believe you’re forgetting the self-described most persecuted person in the history of our nation."
Ah, that poor, sweet, bronzed angel of a raccoon-man: is there nothing he won't endure for us? He's in a category all his own.
I hope, as Lindsey Graham exhorted, that the poor of this country open their meagre billfolds and give generously to the very stable genius "billionaire" to help support his legal fees as law agencies all over this country investigate and prosecute him. Why, the man is plainly a political prisoner, just like his January Six besties, persecuted via shameful pretext just because he's committed many crimes.
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To paraphrase a classic Doonesbury strip: It would be a disservice to Justice Thomas to prejudge the man, but everything known to date could lead one to conclude he's guilty! That's *guilty!* Guilty, guilty, guilty!
+10 for the Doonesbury reference!
And what does the Supreme Court intend to do about it?
I'm sure Curley will ask Clarence Crow if he broke the law, and duly report that ole' Clar said he didn't.
As to the first question, I think it is pretty obvious now that Clarence gets off on getting away with cheating. He's a classic cowardly thief.
there's not a whole lot curley can do about clarence, and that's part of the problem. there's not much anyone can do, short of impeachment and conviction (not going to happen) or criminal indictment (theoretically possible, but not likely). each justice is an empire unto him/herself, each deciding what rules apply to them and which ones can be ignored, with absolutely no consequences either way. the word for today: impunity.
Most important of all: Late Night's got a ready made riff.
https://youtu.be/JAFyvePcR_o
I'm sure there are plenty of hospitality suites at 1111 Constitution Avenue.
Perhaps good old Harlan needed some extra space at Clarence's mom's house for his expanding Nazi memorabilia collection.
SCOTUS will do nothing about this and Clarence will continue supporting all the bat shit crazy right wing cases that comes before the court.
I read the statute, if he intentionally committed the acts in the story he may fined $50,000 fine and sentenced to 1 year in jail.
Let's hope it's the latter, which will probably kill him.
So it’s a Class A Misdemeanor?
when his case reached the supreme court on appeal, will thomas recuse himself?
So perhaps he is Abe Fortas after all.
"... avoid even the appearance of impropriety"
Well, Thomas has definitely failed that bit of advice.
If he was anything but a Supreme Court Justice he'd be gone by now. The SC is the final word on anything they decide to take up.
Seems Thomas is judge and jury on his own behavior.
not seems. clarence IS judge and jury on his own behavior. theoretically congress could act but that ain't gonna happen, not in a million years.
He also never disclosed his wife’s income which seems to be entirely funded by Crow as well
I would assume Clarance has some issues with the IRS. The rules are complicated and set to benefit high income people. The gift tax comes to mind.
If it's the gift tax, then it's Harlan Crow who has some issues if they weren't disclosed. It's the giver, not the receiver, that's responsible for gift taxes.
Clearly, we now need a "grift tax." Something like a 200% rate might be a start.
Chief Justice Roberts, as presiding officer of the Judicial Council (a policy-setting group that consists of a number of Federal judges), is responsible for administering the reporting requirements for Federal judges.
I don't know what sanctions the Judicial Council can apply to those who willfully break the rules, as Thomas seems to have done. Presumably they can refer the case to the Attorney General. The Attorney General can file a civil suit, and Thomas can be fined up to $10,000.
Congress can also impeach Thomas, but that has no chance of actually happening.
As far as I can tell there are no criminal penalties for failure to obey the reporting requirements.
Will certainly be delicious, and totally appropriate, if CT's behavior is what justifies expanding the court with 7 new Biden picks
Maybe Robert’s will boot him. He’d still have a majority and would be the swing vote as he is slightly more rational than the other Clowns in his party.
Roberts has to have known that this was going on for years. If he didn't care then, why would he give a shit now? Just because it's out in the open? Roberts won't do bupkiss. And even if he was concerned, I'm not sure that the chief justice actually has any actual authority to discipline an associate justice for something like this. Thomas can only be impeached and removed by Congress and that ain't gonna happen. He could be caught cannibalizing infants and Republicans would not give a shit.
Maybe Robert’s will boot him.
Am I missing something? Roberts has no such power under the constitution. Thomas would have to be impeached by Congress.
"...It has all the appearance of plain old lawbreaking. .."
What law are we talking about here?
The law is the same one that caught up with Al Capone. The couldn’t hang any of his numerous murders on him, so they nailed his ass for failing to report all his income.
Those “friendly favors” included free travel, which is explicitly identified in the tax code as reportable income.
"Those “friendly favors” included free travel, which is explicitly identified in the tax code as reportable income."
Maybe from your employer for personal travel. Not from your employer for business travel or from your Mom so you will come visit her.
"Maybe from your employer for personal travel. Not from your employer for business travel or from your Mom so you will come visit her."
Oh, I wasn't aware that Harlan Crow was Clarence Thomas's mother. I guess that makes it all ok then.
Not reportable from your Mom only because it is usually less than 10k which is the threshold for reporting and paying tax (by the mom.)
One of the great things (*cough*) about America is that bribery and influence-peddling are pretty much totally legal and kosher as long as it comes in the form of a "campaign donation" or just a casual get-together with some friends on your yacht or buying your mom a house, whatever.
I'm sure if he's charged, he'll fight it all the way to the Supreme Court.
+1
And we know he wouldn't recuse . . .
Poetic justice would be expulsion for cause from the ABA's Judicial Division. If he bothers to keep up membership, that is.
And what does the Supreme Court intend to do about it?
I'm pretty sure Susan Collins would be willing to furrow her brow.
I hear she's Concerned.
I just listened to a younger Thomas explain how in his profession losing trust is like committing adultery. You can explain, but you can't set it right. I think that is the standard he should be held to.
There's nothing innocent about it. Clarence Thomas has been corrupt with a sense of impunity since the days he regaled Anita Hill with the plots of porn movies.
Trump (and many MAGA-ites in Congress) have shown us how much of governance and justice is based on norms and integrity. Those are the traditional restraints, but legally unenforceable for the most part. In the instance of Justice Thomas, there's not much we can do.
Perhaps laws can be written to encompass much (or all) transgressive behavior, but at least for now, someone shameless enough can get away with a lot of things that deviate from the spirit found in the Constitution (and elsewhere).
Fox News is a big factor why this has emerged in recent decades. That network celebrates Trump's multitude of lies and his attempts to break democracy in America. Its activities encourage norm breaking in the furtherance of conservative (or MAGA) ideology and score-settling. Some of this comes from the top. Even though Rupert Murdoch is a citizen (mainly to get around media restrictions) he is basically a foreigner who doesn't care about the United States beyond it being a source of profit. He doesn't care about concomitant damage to established mechanisms that have reduced conflict (if imperfectly). Fox will tabloid the nation into a frenzy if it means another nickel in his pocket.
Like +25. Sadly.
Yes. Federal workplace sexual harassment has been illegal since the Civil Rights Act.
This is bad. Even if the gifts themselves were innocent (which is starting to seem less likely) it's bad. The whole purpose of the law is to help ensure that no bribery or undue influence is happening. That's why government employees aren't given a "trust me, it's all innocent" exception, otherwise no one would every bother reporting anything.
Now, I'm not a person who obsesses over every trivial freebie or perk. But based on what's been reported, this has definitely reached the point where the DOJ needs to investigate and likely prosecute. We're talking millions in gifts along with a suspicious real estate deal that has a billionaire as the landlord for a SCOTUS justice's mother, who is getting free rent. That's an awful lot of leverage to have over one of the most powerful people in our government that wasn't lawfully disclosed.
They should also investigate who else Crow may have been giving patronage to. He certainly seems to be close to John Yoo. Has he given gifts to any other justices?
Here's the thing, he could have disclosed it.
Overpayment--probably, but not on the order of the high end real estate or art markets when potential money laundering or payoffs is involved. So you disclose it. And it wouldn't really be an issue unless there were other items that weren't disclosed earlier.....oh that....
There is no "maybe" here -- this is comic-book-level corruption. It would be so even if Thomas's benefactor was just some random rich guy, but the fact that he is a fervent right-wing nutball who has been contributing to Thomas's wife's ideological movement makes it even more hilarious. This is plain simple bribery, not matter how many legal analysts cluck about the difficulty of proving it. Of course it's hard to prove in court because right-wing billionaires have access to the very best lawyers to help them chart a strategy to dodge accountability!
Roberts is going to do the same as the rest of us: wait until he dies and say good riddance.
"And what does the Supreme Court intend to do about it?"
Throw the case out on a technicality when it comes up for review. Thomas will not recuse himself for this case.
When an 'originalist' and 'textualist' Associate Supreme Court Justice ignores the clear language of the law and instead relies on "guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary" to decide that he doesn't need to report things that the law clearly requires him to report, he's a criminal.
And when he proclaims his love of Walmart parking lots and RV parks in his only references to his leisurely undertakings in a documentary about his life, when in fact he regularly vacations on luxury megayachts and at private resorts, he's a liar.
He's a pubic hair on the coke can that is the Supreme Court.
"And what does the Supreme Court intend to do about it?" The same thing they did about Ginni Thomas leaking the Dodd decsion. Stick their fingers in their ears and pretend they know nothing bout it.