WASHINGTON – Judge Clarence Thomas reported three trips last year on a private jet provided by Dallas billionaire Harlan Crowe, including to the real estate mogul's upstate New York mansion. It also includes a week's vacation, the first time Justice Thomas has disclosed such a trip since joining the court in 1991.
In his 2022 ethics filing released Thursday, Thomas admitted he should have disclosed in 2014 that he sold his mother's home to Crowe.
A ProPublica investigation released in April revealed that Mr. Crow, a major Republican donor, had provided lavish vacations to judges for years, sparking a heated debate over Supreme Court ethics. caused it. In an unusual filing, Thomas defended the lack of disclosure regarding travel before 2022, saying court guidelines did not require disclosure until last spring.
Two of the Crow-sponsored trips listed in Thomas' new application were for him to speak at a conference held by the conservative American Enterprise Institute in Dallas.
The first time was in February 2022. The judge flew to Dallas on a commercial airline, but when an “unexpected ice storm” hit, Mr. Crow provided meals and flew him back to Washington, D.C., on his private plane, the judge reported.
The second was a three-day trip in May, 10 days after an unprecedented draft decision was leaked indicating the court would soon overturn its Roe v. Wade victory. Thomas' filing said commercial flights were too dangerous due to safety considerations.
“Given the heightened security risks following Mr. Dobbs' leak, the applicant's security personnel recommended non-commercial travel whenever possible, so the May flight was scheduled on a private plane as an official trip,” he said in a statement. I went there,” he said.
The draft Dobbs decision was leaked on May 2nd. Thomas' visit to Dallas began on May 12th. The high court issued a ruling on June 24, ending half a century of constitutional protection for the right to abortion.
Thomas also reported a week-long trip to Crowe's luxury mansion in the upstate New York town of Keith Mill from July 7th to 13th.
The estate, known as Camp Topridge, was once owned by serial heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post. He also owns the Mar-a-Lago estate, now owned by Donald Trump, whose father, CW Post, founded General Foods.
Thomas said that unlike many previous vacation trips offered by Crow, the rules have changed so private plane flights and “lodging, dining, and entertainment on Adirondack property” are now reportable. Stated. He cited guidance issued by the Judicial Council on March 14 that limits the scope of the “personal entertainment exemption” and “makes clear for the first time” that private airline tickets and other gifts should be reported. And so.
Thomas' application does not value travel. Lower federal court judges have much more stringent disclosure requirements than judges on the nation's highest courts, a source of much concern in Congress.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (DR.I.) called on the Judicial Conference to clarify the standard for “personal hospitality.” He derided Thomas' application as a belated effort. He attended “Cleaning Up Aisle 3” and added that Congress would not be deterred from “thoroughly investigating the massive and secret right-wing billionaire influence that this court is the envy of.”
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, along with Rep. Chip Roy of Austin and Rep. Mike Johnson (Louisiana), Vice Chairman of the Committee, said in a statement. and condemned the “groundless attacks” against the judiciary. “The left has been trying to capture Justice Clarence Thomas for more than 30 years,” they said.
The first ProPublica report documenting Crowe's private leniency toward Thomas was released on April 6. The list also included a 2019 trip to Indonesia that could have cost Thomas more than $500,000 had he chartered a plane and yacht.
Mr. Crow is chairman of Crow Holdings, one of North Texas' most successful private investment firms, managing approximately $29 billion in real estate and securities assets. His late father, the legendary Tramell Crowe, developed the Dallas Market Center, Atlanta's Peachtree Center, and San Francisco's Embarcadero Center.
He dismissed allegations of unethical conduct by Thomas over undisclosed luxury holidays as well as other instances of financial support that have surfaced in recent months.
This includes paying at least $150,000 in boarding school tuition for Thomas' grandnephew, who was being cared for by the judge.
In 2014, Crowe bought Thomas' mother's house from a judge. Mr. Thomas had not listed the sale in his annual ethics report until Thursday.
“Clarence Thomas has been the target of a 32-year campaign to destroy him personally,” Crowe said. dallas morning news In May.
Thomas' latest ethics filing includes details never before made public by a judge about the sale of the home.
The memo, marked “Savannah Real Estate Transactions,” states that “while outside the period covered,” Thomas wishes to provide “supplemental information regarding the 2014 disposition of certain real estate interests he held with his family in Savannah, Georgia.” It is stated that.
“In 1984, the applicant inherited one-third of an interest in three properties: her mother's residence and two additional homes on the same street. Mr. Crowe purchased all three properties, along with other homes/lots on the same street, for $133,000,” the disclosure statement states.
The newspaper said the Thomases had spent between $50,000 and $75,000 renovating their mother's home and “this transaction represents a capital loss.”
In his filing, Thomas admitted he should have reported the sale in 2014, saying he didn't realize it was necessary because the property was sold at a loss.
Since 1996, Crowe has called the judge and his wife, prominent conservative activist Ginny Thomas, “dear friends” and the judge “one of the greatest Americans of our time.”
“Judges Thomas and Ginni never asked for this kind of hospitality. We never asked about any pending or lower court litigation, and Judge Thomas never talked about it. “I have never attempted to influence Judge Thomas on any legal or political issue,” he said.
Mr. Crow has long been a generous donor to the Republican Party and is often described as a megadonor.
In the 2024 presidential election, he donated to both Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor and United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.
He also supports No Labels, a group that plans to provide a third-party candidate if the 2024 general election is a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden. .
Apart from the trip provided by Crowe, Thomas reported one other trip, which was paid for.
It was to Salt Lake City to give a lecture at a place Thomas named the “Hatch Center.'' It's the Orrin G. Hatch Foundation, named for the 42-year Utah senator who was dedicated to “citizens and solutions.” Hatch died on March 11, six weeks after the foundation hosted “An Evening with Justice Clarence Thomas.”
