Clarence Thomas allegedly broke one of the few ethics laws that apply to the Supreme Court
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has another ethics problem, and this time, despite the near-total lack of binding ethics rules applying to the Supreme Court, he may have actually broken a law.
A Pro Publica investigation finds that for more than two decades, Thomas has been accepting lavish vacations from real estate billionaire Harlan Crow. And while the Supreme Court is not bound by the code of conduct that requires other federal judges to avoid even the “appearance of impropriety,” it is bound by a law requiring the disclosure of gifts over $415. Thomas would likely claim that the vacations Crow has gifted him don’t need to be disclosed because they fall under the category of “Food, lodging, or entertainment received as personal hospitality,” which “need not be reported.” But ProPublica identified two ways that Thomas’ flights on a Crow’s private jet, vacations on his 162-foot yacht, and annual stays in his private resort do violate the disclosure requirements.
RELATED STORY: Ginni Thomas backed Donald Trump's attempted coup. Now the Supreme Court spouse has a new project