In light of recent revelations about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas receiving yet another undisclosed luxury vacation from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, legal experts are urging the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to initiate a criminal investigation.
Some are also calling for Thomas’ resignation.
The latest report, according to the Associated Press, details a 2010 trip where Justice Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, flew from Hawaii to New Zealand on Crow’s private jet.
This trip was not listed on Thomas’ financial disclosure reports, adding to a growing list of unreported luxury travel provided by Crow.
In a comprehensive eight-page letter to Crow’s attorney, Senate Democratic Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden highlighted the extent of these undisclosed gifts.
Wyden revealed that Justice Thomas has enjoyed the use of Crow’s private jets on 17 occasions since 2016, with nine flights in the past three years alone.
Wyden’s letter also detailed that Thomas has traveled on Crow’s yacht, the Michaela Rose, to destinations including Greece, New Zealand, the Caribbean, Russia, and the Baltics.
These trips were likewise omitted from his financial disclosures, a legal requirement for federal judges.
Legal experts are raising serious concerns about these omissions. Alex Aronson, former Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and now Executive Director of Court Accountability, stated:
“There’s no reading of the federal ethics laws that exempts private jet travel from disclosure. Thomas’s decades-long pattern of failing to disclose these trips was a willful violation of law subject to criminal penalties. Garland needs to open a case.”
The controversy has prompted several calls for action. Retired FBI Assistant Director Frank Figliuzzi, now an NBC News national security analyst, succinctly remarked:
“More undisclosed gifts. It’s time for DOJ and IRS.”
Similarly, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, currently a law professor and MSNBC legal analyst, called for Thomas’ resignation:
“It’s not going to stop. At a minimum, he needs to step down.”
In July, Chairman Wyden and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent a detailed 14-page letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, requesting the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate potential violations of federal ethics and tax laws by Justice Thomas.
The letter included a 35-line chart titled “Likely Undisclosed Gifts and Income from Harlan Crow and Affiliated Companies,” listing various undisclosed trips and benefits received by Thomas.
Notably, the chart mentions a 2003 “Yacht trip to Russia and the Baltics” and a “Helicopter ride to Yusupov Palace, St. Petersburg.”
The New Republic reported that Yusupov Palace is a significant location in Russian history, associated with President Vladimir Putin. Although it is unclear whether Thomas met with Putin during this trip, the implications of such undisclosed travel are considerable.
Attorney George Conway emphasized the urgency of the situation, tweeting:
“At this point, it’s completely incomprehensible that @TheJusticeDept hasn’t opened a criminal investigation into Justice Thomas’s misconduct.”
CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, echoed this sentiment, stating:
“A DOJ investigation into Clarence Thomas’s secret trips sure sounds like a good idea to us.”
The mounting pressure from legal experts and public figures underscores the gravity of the allegations against Justice Thomas. As calls for accountability grow louder, the legal community and the public await the DOJ’s response.
