Politics

Clarence Thomas Finally Discloses Slew of Gifts From Megadonor Pal

FANCY FREEBIES

Among the freebies were private jet flights to luxury vacations.

Clarence Thomas poses for a portrait inside the Supreme Court.
Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein

Clarence Thomas, the Supreme Court justice accused of accepting dozens of free vacations and gifts from his billionaire donor pal, finally disclosed some of the freebies in an annual financial form released Thursday. Thomas disclosed that the GOP megadonor Harlan Crow paid for three recent trips—two to Dallas and another to the Adirondack Mountains. One trip included travel on a private jet because Thomas didn’t feel safe flying commercial in the wake of the leaked Roe v. Wade decision, he said. The disclosure covered only a portion of the gifts Thomas is accused of accepting, which ProPublica reported included additional lavish trips, island-hopping on a superyacht, a house for Thomas’ mom in Georgia, and tuition money for Thomas’ great nephew to attend private school. In the disclosure form, Thomas said he’s continuing to work with “officials and the committee staff for guidance on whether he should further amend his reports from any prior years.”

Read it at The New York Times