Last Thursday, the left-wing website ProPublica reported that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginny frequently traveled on billionaire Harlan Crow’s yacht and private jet during his tenure on the Court, and ethics experts claim that Justice Thomas violated disclosure rules by not disclosing the trips.
In no time, the corporate news media and Democrat lawmakers seized on the ProPublica report to once again demand Justice Thomas resign from the Court.
New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she would file articles of impeachment against Thomas.
In a statement responding to the ProPublica hit piece, Justice Thomas said he and Ginny have known Harlan Crow and his wife Kathy for over 25 years and consider them among their “dearest friends.” He said that their long friendship is the reason he and Ginny often joined the Crows on family trips.
According to Justice Thomas, early in his tenure on the Court, he “sought guidance” from colleagues and “others in the judiciary” who advised him that these trips are “personal hospitality from close personal friends” with no “business before the Court,” so the trips were “not reportable.”
Justice Thomas said he has followed that guidance throughout his tenure and has “always sought to comply with disclosure guidelines.” Noting that the disclosure guidelines will soon be changing, Justice Thomas said he intends to comply with the new guidelines as well.
During an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash over the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that Justice Thomas’ statement contradicted the “facts on the ground” and raises “more serious questions.”
She claimed that Thomas said Crow had been a close friend for 25 years (he said over 25 years) but since he has been on the Court for 30 years, he is admitting that the friendship began after he became a Supreme Court justice.
Apparently, Ocasio-Cortez believes that Supreme Court justices are not permitted to become friends with a billionaire.
She also accused Thomas of “implicating his colleagues” by saying he sought their guidance.
Ocasio-Cortez told Bash that Chief Justice John Roberts must publicly state whether he allows “this kind of very serious corruption” on the Supreme Court.
