# Clarence Thomas secretly accepted luxury vacations from GOP donor without disclosing **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [April 6, 2023, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252 "2023-04-06T14:10:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/141 "2023-04-13T23:42:22Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > planned to build Thomas a museum in his honor OK he’s now in the same boat as Trump for me - I get the corruption and all that but I don’t get how these guys are so tacky. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2023, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/142 "2023-04-13T23:53:11Z")
Man - just keeps getting better and better! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/143 "2023-04-14T00:49:10Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > just keeps getting better and better! For certain values of “better”. (At this point, I think a sensible Congress would impeach him and Alito, the guy who I’m sure is leaking Court opinions). ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/144 "2023-04-14T01:07:17Z")
An even slightly less unhinged GOP would at least try to cut a deal with the democrats to line another conservative up as Thomas’s replacement and then impeach him. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/145 "2023-04-14T01:07:27Z")
More importantly, Roberts spent decades claiming that they were all above politics, and thus could be trusted. And I find it . . . unlikely . . . that he was unaware of these trips and gifts, if perhaps not the absolute scale. Yet he stands and proclaims that the SCOTUS is treated unfairly, that their good name is besmirched, and so forth. This _should_ be the last straw. And if he cannot get them to agree to and enforce a code of conduct/ethics, then he should step down. Now. Prove the ethics and impartiality that he claims to admire by removing himself if he’s not willing to fight for the ideals of law he claims to uphold. Pardon me if I don’t hold my breath. ---
**Author:** ![DeadTreasSecretaries](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deadtreassecretaries/32/4817_2.png) [@DeadTreasSecretaries](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeadTreasSecretaries)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/146 "2023-04-14T01:09:43Z")
Oh yeah, for all the Republican brow-furrowing we’ve seen in the past several years, Roberts is far and away the worst offender. All the honesty and integrity has been revealed to entirely be an aesthetic. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/147 "2023-04-14T01:30:53Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > Roberts spent decades claiming that they were all above politics He never once promised they were above simple graft, however. So technically, they’ve broken no promises. 🤢 ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/148 "2023-04-14T05:12:15Z")
I hope they’ve got the bastard now! ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/149 "2023-04-14T06:24:15Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > hope they’ve got the bastard now! Nope. Greed, graft and unethical/illegal behaviour is not just accepted by Republicans now. It is Required and applauded. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/150 "2023-04-14T07:55:24Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > Nixon replaced Fortas with Harry Blackmun; one of the most liberal justices to sit on the court. It was a different time. It was a different time indeed. And though there were “conservative” justices, the word meant something very different than today’s craziness. Here’s a bit of history for those who may be interested. When the Fortas vacacy was finally filled in 1970, the Supreme Court bench looked like this – asterisks indicate Republican nominees: Warren E. Burger \* Hugo L. Black William O. Douglas John M. Harlan II \* William J. Brennan, Jr. \* Potter Stewart \* Byron R. White Thurgood Marshall Harry A. Blackmun \* Contrast some of these distinguished names with the likes of Thomas, Alito, and the three Trump lunatics. By the time of the _Roe v Wade_ ruling, Powell and Rehnquist had been added, both Nixon appointees, to replace Black and Harlan. The Supreme Court then looked like this: Warren E. Burger \* William O. Douglas William J. Brennan, Jr. \* Potter Stewart \* Byron R. White Thurgood Marshall Harry A. Blackmun \* Lewis F. Powell, Jr. \* William H. Rehnquist \* We now have 6 Republican-appointed justices to 3 Democratic-appointed ones. Yet _Roe v Wade_ was decided by a 7-2 majority, with only White (a JFK appointee) and Rehnquist dissenting. And so it stood for 50 years until the era of Trumpism and the country losing its collective mind. It was a different time, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/151 "2023-04-14T13:18:58Z")
I wonder if it makes it to the Supreme Court if Thomas will recuse himself. Actually, no I don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2023, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/152 "2023-04-15T02:51:39Z")
Since no one seems to have posted it yet, CREW’s request to Merrick Garland to investigate: > **[Justice-Clarence-Thomas-DOJ-Complaint-April-14-2023-5.pdf](https://www.citizensforethics.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Justice-Clarence-Thomas-DOJ-Complaint-April-14-2023-5.pdf)** > > 402.83 KB ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/153 "2023-04-16T02:38:58Z")
Is nobody else not even a little bit surprised that the mother of a Supreme Court justice apparently lives in a home that’s worth less than $133,000? ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/154 "2023-04-16T11:53:14Z")
She may simply have lived in that house a very long time, since before her son was so prominent, and like many older people, is comfortable there and doesn’t want to move. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/155 "2023-04-16T12:13:33Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > Is nobody else not even a little bit surprised that the mother of a Supreme Court justice apparently lives in a home that’s worth less than $133,000? It was a house where Thomas had lived as a child, so I’m sure it was modest, as he didn’t grow up wealthy. > [@Toxgoddess](#): > > She may simply have lived in that house a very long time, since before her son was so prominent, and like many older people, is comfortable there and doesn’t want to move. Precisely. Once Harlan bought it, Clarence’s mom just continued to live there. There was no particular need to sell it, since she wasn’t going to move. It was just a windfall, really. He also fixed the place up, which I imagine the tenant appreciated. > [@](#): > > The Crow company bought the properties for $133,363 from three co-owners — Thomas, his mother and the family of Thomas’ late brother, according to a [state tax document](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23774051-sales-document-pt61) and [a deed](https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23774272-warranty-deed-thomas-and-crow) dated Oct. 15, 2014, filed at the Chatham County courthouse. > > The purchase put Crow in an unusual position: He now owned the house where the justice’s elderly mother was living. Soon after the sale was completed, contractors began work on tens of thousands of dollars of improvements on the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home, which looks out onto a patch of orange trees. The renovations included a carport, a repaired roof and a new fence and gates, according to city permit records and blueprints. > **[Harlan Crow Bought Property from Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose...](https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus)** > > The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living. > **[Clarence Thomas’ Mom Definitely Still Lives in the House the Billionaire Bought](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/04/clarence-thomas-mom-billionaire-house.html)** > > We were there just a couple of weeks ago. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/156 "2023-04-16T12:32:51Z")
Who doesn’t have their friend buy their mother’s house, let her stay there, and then start fixing up the joint? I thought that was super common. Can’t Justice Thomas have friends? This is all so unfair. If someone fixed up the house my mom lived in for no reason, it would definitely never affect my judgement. I think the funny thing is that Thomas was going to rule the right-wing lunatic way even if this obvious Batman villain hadn’t been bribing him for years. Seems like wasted money – it’s like paying a bee to pollinate your flowers – would do it gratis. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/157 "2023-04-16T16:10:53Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > I think the funny thing is that Thomas was going to rule the right-wing lunatic way even if this obvious Batman villain hadn’t been bribing him for years. Seems like wasted money – it’s like paying a bee to pollinate your flowers – would do it gratis. Yeah, but sometimes you need other favors. “Don’t resign just yet,” or “can you give me a heads up on how the big ruling might turn out so I can buy or sell the right stocks.” ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/158 "2023-04-16T16:51:43Z")
You know, that level of corruption really didn’t occur to me, but I don’t know why not. We already suspect one of the conservative justices leaked the abortion ruling. Thanks for recalibrating my cynicism upward again. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/159 "2023-04-16T17:16:07Z")
And in yet another revelation, Thomas has been reporting income from a defunct company since 2006. > [@](#): > > Over the last two decades, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has reported on required financial disclosure forms that his family received rental income totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars from a firm called Ginger, Ltd., Partnership. > > But that company — a Nebraska real estate firm launched in the 1980s by his wife and her relatives — has not existed since 2006. > > That year, the family real estate company was shut down and a separate firm was created, state incorporation records show. The similarly named firm assumed control of the shuttered company’s land leasing business, according to property records. > > Since that time, however, Thomas has continued to report income from the defunct company — between $50,000 and $100,000 annually in [recent](https://fixthecourt.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Thomas-C-J3.-SC_SR_21.pdf)[years](https://fixthecourt.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thomas-C-J3.-SC_SR_20.pdf)— and there is no mention of the newer firm, Ginger Holdings, LLC, on the forms . > > The previously unreported misstatement might be dismissed as a paperwork error. But it is among a series of errors and omissions that Thomas has made on required annual financial disclosure forms over the past several decades, a review of those records shows. > **[Clarence Thomas has for years claimed income from a defunct real estate firm...](https://apple.news/AehCY-7S5QlCj8g6oQhVEYg)** > > The misstatements are part of a pattern that has raised questions about how the justice views his obligation to report details about his finances to the public. So he’s not disclosing lavish indulgences, and the ones he is disclosing aren’t even accurate. Thomas is above the law, and doesn’t care what he’s expected to do or not. Much like half-assing his job, or sleeping through court, his whole life is just a big ‘fuck you’ to decorum. > **[Clarence Thomas’s Disgraceful Silence](https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/clarence-thomass-disgraceful-silence)** > > Clarence Thomas’s behavior on the Supreme Court bench has gone from curious to bizarre to downright embarrassing. > **[Did Clarence Thomas Actually Fall Asleep During Oral Arguments At The Supreme...](https://uproxx.com/culture/clarence-thomas-asleep-supreme-court/)** > > A recent Supreme Court sketch appears to show Justice Clarence Thomas taking a nap during oral arguments. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2023, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252/160 "2023-04-16T18:43:36Z")
As a Learned Judge, I am sure he takes a lenient attitude towards the obvious paperwork errors of others. It seems clear to me that the dominant ethos of conservative judges is compassion and concern for the well-being of others _as people_. Is there anything to see here? Some people stop traffic to gawk at accidents… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/clarence-thomas-secretly-accepted-luxury-vacations-from-gop-donor-without-disclosing/982252.md?page=9)