Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas responded Friday to mounting criticism over his luxury vacations funded by a billionaire conservative mega-donor—stressing that the pair are long-time friends and the jaunts were simply “personal hospitality” rather than business-related.
In a statement from the court, Thomas said he’d had a decades-long relationship with Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas businessman who ProPublica revealed on Thursday had funded at least five trips for Thomas since 2008. Among the trips, the outlet reported, included stays on the Republican donor’s 162-foot superyacht and private resorts.
“Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years,” Thomas said. “As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them.”
