Senate Judiciary Committee Uncovers More Undisclosed Trips by Justice Clarence Thomas

FILE - Members of the Supreme Court sit for a new group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court building in Washington, Oct. 7, 2022. Bottom row, from left, Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts, Associate Justice Samuel Alito, and Associate Justice Elena Kagan. Top row, from left, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin revealed that the committee’s ethics investigation into the Supreme Court has uncovered at least three additional trips taken by Justice Clarence Thomas, financed by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.

Durbin, D-Ill., announced on Thursday that the committee obtained information from Crow indicating Thomas took three trips and at least six flights on Crow’s private jet in 2017, 2019, and 2021. Additionally, the panel found evidence of private jet travel during trips to Indonesia and California, which Thomas recently disclosed in an amendment to a 2019 financial disclosure report.

The Democratic-led Judiciary panel initiated the investigation last year after multiple reports surfaced about Thomas receiving undisclosed expensive gifts, including international travel, from Crow. The committee has since urged the Supreme Court to adopt a stronger ethics code in light of the revelations concerning trips taken by Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito, along with six-figure book deals received by other justices.

The newly uncovered information, according to Durbin, “makes it crystal clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct, because its members continue to choose not to meet the moment.”

Thomas, in previous statements, has maintained that he is not required to disclose the trips paid for by Crow, citing the personal nature of their friendship and the lack of business before the Court involving Crow. However, ProPublica reported last year that these undisclosed trips, which included travel on Crow’s yacht and private jet, could have cost more than $500,000 had Thomas chartered a plane and yacht himself.

Thomas’s recent financial disclosure indicated that Crow paid for a hotel room in Bali, Indonesia, for a single night in 2019, as well as food and lodging at a private club in Sonoma County, California, the same year. However, he did not report the flights or the yacht stay.

Crow’s office stated that despite serious concerns about the legality and necessity of the inquiry, he agreed to provide information responsive to the committee’s requests dating back seven years. The Judiciary panel, which authorized a subpoena for Crow in November despite Republican protests, plans to release a full report later this year.

Among the details released by Durbin on Thursday were trips taken by Thomas on Crow’s jet from St. Louis to Montana in 2017, a round trip from Washington to Savannah, Georgia, in 2019, and a round trip from Washington to San Jose, California, in 2021. The committee also has evidence of private jet travel for Thomas’s 2019 trip to Indonesia and an eight-day yacht excursion.

The Supreme Court adopted an ethics code in November, though Democrats argue it is insufficient as it lacks enforcement mechanisms. Under the new code, justices must report private plane travel and other significant expenses, but Thomas has not reported trips taken before these rules were implemented.

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