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*Ha. Haha. Hahah. Sniff. Haha. Sniff. Ha–breaks down crying hysterically.
TALK OF THE MORNING
Report — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury trips without disclosing them:
ProPublica has an explosive story out this morning on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Based on ProPublica’s reporting, Thomas has accepted many luxury trips from GOP megadonor and Dallas businessman Harlan Crow without disclosing the travel freebies.
From the report: “For more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them, documents and interviews show.”
The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld looks at calls from Democrats to ratchet up scrutiny of Thomas and other justices following the report.
Some highlights from the outlet’s investigation into the unprecedented situation:
Thomas spends about a week every summer at Crow’s private resort in the Adirondacks (an invite-only site that notably features a 1950s-style soda fountain where staff make milkshakes for guests).
Thomas’s failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate.
Thomas isn’t talking — he didn’t respond to ProPublica’s questions, but Crow told the site that the travel gifts are “no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends.” He also said he doesn’t discuss court cases with the justice.
ProPublica interviewed “dozens of people ranging from (Crow’s) superyacht staff to members of the secretive Bohemian Club to an Indonesian scuba diving instructor.”
This anecdote captures the extravagant travels: “In late June 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court released its final opinion of the term, Justice Clarence Thomas boarded a large private jet headed to Indonesia. He and his wife were going on vacation: nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef. If Thomas had chartered the plane and the 162-foot yacht himself, the total cost of the trip could have exceeded $500,000.”
Check out the full ProPublica investigation here.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded to the report by calling for Thomas to be impeached.
DON’T FORGET:
Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, have previously faced scrutiny over Ginni Thomas’s ties to former President Trump and the 2020 election fraud claims that prompted the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the Capitol.
A new book out this week reportedly suggests that Ginni Thomas was the subject of consternation at the High Court over her political activities.
Newsweek reports: “In her new book, Nine Black Robes: Inside the Supreme Court’s Drive to the Right and Its Historic Consequences, CNN senior Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic claims that (Justice) Thomas’ Supreme Court colleagues displayed loyalty to him while criticizing his wife.”
It’s Thursday, April 6. After a couple of days of lovely weather, you still have time to check out the cherry blossoms. I’m Elizabeth Crisp, filling in for Cate, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up.
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