On the TV series ‘Your Honor’ an esteemed judge’s influence is bought with the promise it is the only payment that can save his only child’s life. The price is unfathomable; it goes against everything he stands for, destroys the foundation that the judiciary is built upon, and ultimately kills everything he loves. This drama is so engrossing because it takes one of America’s most hallowed institutions and shows how it can be corrupted from within. Revelations unearthed by ProPublica about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas paint an even more disturbing picture, because the price of his unrivaled influence was not a life, but extravagant trips.
Justice Thomas has been a prominent figure on the nation’s highest court for three decades. He is known for his conservative views and his unwavering adherence to originalism, a legal philosophy that emphasizes interpreting the Constitution according to its original meaning. Thomas’ originalism was on full display in the 2019 term where decisions on gerrymandering, race discrimination, and the First Amendment were made.
Harlan Crow, The Benefactor
After the term, instead of Justice Thomas sitting down to contemplate the weight of his decisions, he boarded a private jet headed to Indonesia for a nine-day island-hopping vacation on a super-yacht staffed by a private chef and attendants. The cost of such a trip could exceed $500,000, Justice Thomas’ annual salary $285,000. However, he didn’t have to pay for it because he was vacationing with Harlan Crow.
Harlan Crow is a Dallas-based real estate developer and billionaire Republican mega donor. He is the chairman of Crow Holdings, one of the largest privately held real estate companies in the United States. The Texan is respected for his business acumen, but also has been criticized for his collection of Nazi memorabilia. Perhaps more important to him than his Third Reich archives is his relationship with Justice Thomas.
Though Justice Thomas claims to be an ‘everyman’ who comes from “regular stock” and prefers “RV parks…the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things” as he stated in the Crow financed documentary about his life ‘Created Equal’. Justice Thomas actually seems infatuated with the high-life, he has accepted luxury trips almost every year for more than two decades from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them. Justice Thomas flies on Crow’s private jet, stays at his sprawling compound in East Texas, and spends a week every summer at his private resort in the Adirondacks.
Friends With Benefits
The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.
This relationship between Justice Thomas and mega donor Harlan Crow raises serious concerns about impartiality and ethical conduct in the Supreme Court. By accepting such lavish gifts, Justice Thomas has opened himself up to the possibility of being directly influenced by a wealthy Republican donor.
In a statement, Crow acknowledged that he has extended “hospitality” to Thomas “over the years,” but said that Thomas never asked for any of it and it was “no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends.”
However, by providing such extravagant gifts and trips, Crow has gained a unique form of access to Justice Thomas, spending days in private with one of the most powerful people in the country. The fact that Justice Thomas has accepted these trips and gifts without disclosing them is a clear violation of ethical norms and standards.
Justice Thomas Denies Ethics Violation
Justice Thomas released a statement that amounts to ‘well I didn’t know it was bad’ a defense that would never stand in his court:
Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable…I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Ethics experts and multiple federal judges have pointed out that this behavior by Justice Thomas breaks long-standing norms for judges’ conduct. Judges are supposed to avoid even the appearance of bias or impropriety, and accepting gifts from wealthy donors clearly undermines the integrity of the judiciary. Before the emergence of this story, the GOP was up in arms over a $35 donation by Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over Donald Trump’s felony case in New York, to Democrats in 2020. Yet none have spoken out against Thomas’ acceptance of these lavish trips.
Additionally, Thomas’ approach to ethics has already attracted public attention. Last year, he did not recuse himself from cases that touched on the involvement of his wife, Ginni, in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which generated outcry. It is worth noting that Crow gave half a million dollars to a Tea Party group founded by Ginni Thomas in 2011, which also paid her a $120,000 salary.
Is Justice Blind?
Through his largesse, Crow has gained a unique form of access, spending days in private with one of the most powerful people in the country. The full scale of Crow’s benefactions to Thomas has never been revealed. It is human nature to look upon someone favorably who does nice things for you. When ‘nice things’ include jaunts around the globe, financing movies, and giving half a million dollars indirectly to your wife it breeds a lot of good will.
The revelation of Justice Thomas’ undisclosed luxury travel and gifts from Crow highlights the dangers of wealthy donors potentially exerting undue influence on Supreme Court justices. The independence and impartiality of the judiciary are essential to maintaining the integrity of the U.S. legal system, and any perception of bias or influence undermines that integrity. It is imperative that the Supreme Court and other federal judges maintain the highest ethical standards to ensure public trust in the judiciary.
This situation raises serious questions about the role of money in the political system and the potential for wealthy donors to exert undue influence on government institutions. Judges, particularly those on the highest court in the land, must be held to the highest ethical standards and must not be swayed by outside influences. The American people deserve a judiciary that is impartial, fair, and free from the taint of corruption. Unfortunately, Justice Tomas’ actions have brought a stink to the Supreme Court, like rotten fish left in the summer heat in the middle of his beloved trailer parks.