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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s financial disclosures this week have fueled hyperventilating attacks from leftwing Democrats, but they actually show their concerted efforts against the only black conservative on the nation’s highest court are groundless.
Financial disclosure guidance for federal judges changed in March, and Thomas accordingly disclosed additional details from hospitality and gifts he had received in past years. His critics – who happen to ardently oppose his views of the Constitution and the law – pounced, arguing that these disclosures suggest wrongdoing.
Of particular focus is Thomas’s longtime friendship with Harlan Crow, a billionaire GOP megadonor who lives in Dallas, Texas, and made his money in real estate. Crow owns various luxury properties and also has a private jet, and Thomas has traveled with him on vacation trips.
Various liberal attacks on Thomas’s relationship with Crow have already fallen flat upon scrutiny. For example, the left screamed that Thomas violated ethics rules when Crow paid for tuition at a private school for Thomas’s great nephew who was living with the justice, but did not acknowledge in their reporting that disclosure for a gift like tuition would apply only for certain family relationships like children, but that great nephews are not on that list.
Another relevant point is that Crow does not have any business in front of the Supreme Court. Wealthy friends may provide fancy food and beautiful venues, but the left fails to explain what is wrong with that when the judge is not voting on a case involving that friend.
