2023-08-31 16:43:04
WASHINGTON (AP) — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged taking three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow.
It is the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. In a report released Thursday, the 75-year-old judge said he was complying with new federal judiciary guidelines when reporting the trips, but did not include any previous trips at Crow’s expense, including one to Indonesia in 2019 aboard. of the yacht of the wealthy businessman and benefactor of conservative causes.
The report comes amid increased focus on ethics in the high court following a spate of reports revealing that Thomas has received undisclosed expensive gifts from Crow for years, including trips abroad.
Crow also bought the Georgia home where Thomas’s mother still lives and paid for two years of private school tuition for a boy raised by Thomas and his wife, Ginni.
The report by the investigative news site ProPublica also noted that Judge Samuel Alito failed to disclose a private trip to Alaska he took in 2008 that was paid for by two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests in court.
The Associated Press also reported in July that Judge Sonia Sotomayor, with the help of her staff, has boosted her book sales through college tours for the past decade.
Supreme Court justices do not have a binding code of ethics and have resisted the idea of adopting one or having one imposed on them by Congress. In the spring, the nine justices signed an ethics statement that Chief Justice John Roberts delivered to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Roberts has recognized that judges can do more to address ethical concerns.
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