Thomas said he was complying with new guidelines for reporting travel, but he did not include any earlier travel at billionaire Harlan Crow’s expense, including a 2019 trip to Indonesia aboard his yacht.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas acknowledged Thursday that he took three trips last year aboard a private plane owned by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow even as he rejected criticism over his failure to report trips in previous years.
It’s the first time in years that Thomas has reported receiving hospitality from Crow. In a filing posted on the federal judiciary’s website, the 75-year-old justice said he was complying with new guidelines from the federal judiciary for reporting travel, but did not include any earlier travel at Crow’s expense, including a 2019 trip in Indonesia aboard the yacht owned by the wealthy businessman and benefactor of conservative causes.
The report comes amid a heightened focus on ethics at the high court that stems from a series of reports revealing that Thomas has for years received undisclosed expensive gifts, including international travel, from Crow.
Crow also purchased the house in Georgia where Thomas’ mother continues to live and paid for two years of private school tuition for a child raised by Thomas and his wife, Virginia.
The reporting by the investigative news site ProPublica also revealed that Justice Samuel Alito failed to disclose a private trip to Alaska he took in 2008 that was paid for by two wealthy Republican donors, one of whom repeatedly had interests before the court.
The Associated Press also reported in July that Justice Sonia Sotomayor, aided by her staff, has advanced sales of her books through college visits over the past decade.
Supreme Court justices do not have a binding code of ethics and have resisted the idea that they adopt one or have one imposed on them by Congress.
