A US Supreme Court justice said he did not need to reveal the lavish gifts

[ad_1]

US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas insisted on Friday that “colleagues and others in the judiciary” had advised him that he did not have to publicly disclose gifts and travel funded by a wealthy conservative donor.

The judge’s statement comes a day after US news agency ProPublica revealed that Thomas had accepted invitations from Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire and Republican donor, to stay at his resort and travel on his private jet and yacht.

The news outlet alleged that Thomas accepted luxury vacations from the Dallas real estate developer for more than two decades without reporting the gifts in the financial disclosures.

The 74-year-old conservative judge said he has followed the guidance of others on the Supreme Court and believes he does not need to reveal the gifts, describing Crowe and his wife Kathy as some of his “best friends”.

“Early in my tenure on the Court, I sought directions from colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was told that this kind of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who had no business before the Court, was not reported,” Thomas said.

“I have attempted to follow this counsel throughout my tenure, and have always endeavored to comply with disclosure guidelines.”

The United States Judicial Conference, which sets policy for the nation’s federal courts, last month adopted stricter rules requiring judges to disclose more of their activities, including private jet travel and stays at hotels, resorts and hunting lodges. However, stays in personal holiday homes remain exempt from reporting requirements.

On Friday, Thomas noted the rule changes and said he “intends to follow this guidance in the future.”

recommended

According to ProPublica, for the past two decades Thomas typically spent a week each summer at Crow’s 105-acre lakeside resort in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The property includes three boats, a clay tennis court, and a life-size replica of Hagrid’s Hut, which served as the home of the Harry Potter character.

The news agency said Thomas also spent time at a crow ranch in eastern Texas and at an exclusive men-only retreat in California.

In a statement, Crowe said the generous hospitality of Thomas and his wife Jenny “over the years” was “not unlike the hospitality we have extended to many of our other dear friends.”

Crowe said he never asked Thomas about “a pending case or a lower court,” and that Thomas never discussed it.

“We have never sought to influence Justice Thomas in any legal or political issue,” Crowe said in a statement. “In general, I am not aware of any of our friends who lobby or seek to influence justice Thomas in any case, and I would never invite anyone who I think has any intention of doing so.”

[ad_2]