US judge acknowledges more travel paid for by Republican megadonor

Clarence Thomas, an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, on Friday (June 7) acknowledged more travel paid by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, the news agency Associated Press reported. Justice Thomas had faced criticism for failing to report luxury trips paid for by Crow and others over many years.

In his annual financial disclosure, Thomas, 75, said that in 2019, Crow paid for a hotel room in Bali, Indonesia, for a single night, and food and lodging at a private club in Sonoma County, California. He did not report any travel paid by others last year.

The disclosure on Indonesia is curious for what it omits: the rest of the trip, the Associated Press reported. In April 2023, investigative journalism outlet ProPublica said that Thomas flew to Indonesia on Crow’s private jet and then boarded his superyacht for an islands tour, one of many trips the Republican megadonor has given to Thomas and his wife, Ginni, over the years.

Following ProPublica’s report, Thomas released a statement acknowledging travel with Crow. However, the top lawyer said that Crow did not have business before the court. The 75-year-old previously said he had been advised that he did not have to report “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends”.

ProPublica had also reported that Thomas sold his mother’s house in Savannah to Crow. Meanwhile, a report by Politico said that Thomas disclosed that Gemini received income from consulting she did on behalf of various conservative organizations.

On Thursday, the judicial reform group Fix the Court said that Thomas accepted millions of dollars worth of gifts over the past two decades on the bench, a total nearly 10 times the value of all gifts received by his fellow justices during the same time.

Between 2004 and 2023, Thomas received 103 gifts with a total value of more than $2.4 million.

Fix the Court said that over the same period, his fellow justices accepted a total of just 93 gifts worth a combined value of only about $248,000. 

(With inputs from agencies)