Justice Thomas defends trips taken with ‘dearest friends’ after reports say he accepted gifts

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued a rare statement Friday to defend travel he took with his friends over many years, following reports that he failed to report travel-related gifts from a GOP mega-donor.

A ProPublica investigation published this week found that Thomas’ close friendship with real estate developer Harlan Crow allowed him to accompany the Texas billionaire on luxury vacations on his private jet and yacht, as well as free stays on Crow’s vast vacation property, among other perks.

But Thomas defended the trips and explained that he has always followed Supreme Court guidance.

"Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years," the justice, who has served on the bench for 32 years, said in a Friday statement.

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"As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them. Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable," Thomas said.

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"I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," he said. "These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance. And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future."

In a statement to ProPublica, Crow denied ever trying to influence Thomas or put him in positions where other influential people could do the same.

"The hospitality we have extended to the Thomas’s (sic) over the years is no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends," part of the statement reads. "We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue. More generally, I am unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that."

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Last month, the Judicial Conference of the United States, which creates and oversees policies for federal courts, revised its ethics and financial disclosure guidelines to require the justices to disclose things like traveling by private jet and staying in resorts.

The ProPublica report sparked reaction from Senate Democrats who called for a strict code of ethics to be imposed on the nine justices.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Thursday that Thomas’ alleged actions are "simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court."

"Today’s report demonstrates, yet again, that Supreme Court Justices must be held to an enforceable code of conduct, just like every other federal judge," Durbin said in a Thursday statement. "The ProPublica report is a call to action, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will act."

Progressive Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., shared similar sentiments in her calls for accountability.

"The American people deserve a federal judiciary that is accountable to the rule of law, not wealthy Republican donors. Today's news is a stark reminder that judges should be held to the highest ethical standards and free from conflicts of interest," Warren wrote on Twitter

Fox News Digital's Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

Progressive Democrats call for Clarence Thomas impeachment after reported undisclosed gifts from GOP megadonor

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other congressional progressive lawmakers called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas amid reports he failed to disclose gifts he accepted from a Republican megadonor. 

"This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking - almost cartoonish," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Thursday. "Thomas must be impeached. Barring some dramatic change, this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights."

A report by ProPublica said Thomas took luxury trips on yachts and private jets owned by Texas businessman Harlan Crow without reporting them on financial disclosure forms. A 2019 trip to Indonesia, the story detailed, could have cost more than $500,000 had Thomas chartered the plane and yacht himself, the report said.

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Supreme Court justices are required to file annual financial disclosure reports, which ask them about gifts they've received. 

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., both called for Thomas' impeachment, with Omar tweeting: "I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached."

Other Democrats said the high court should have higher ethical standards. 

"Justice Thomas’ lavish undisclosed trips with a GOP mega-donor undermine the trust that our country places in the Supreme Court," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. "Time for an enforceable code of conduct for Justices."

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., noted that federal judges are bound by a code of conduct "except 9."

"It's no longer ok for the Supreme Court to be the only federal court without a binding ethical code," Murphy tweeted. "For over a decade, every Congress I've introduced the Supreme Court Ethics Act. It's time to pass it."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the high court. 

Last month, the federal judiciary beefed up disclosure requirements for all judges, including the high court justices, although overnight stays at personal vacation homes owned by friends remain exempt from disclosure.

Last year, questions about Thomas’ ethics arose when it was disclosed that he did not step away from election cases following the 2020 election despite the fact that his wife, conservative activist Virginia Thomas, reached out to lawmakers and the White House to urge defiance of the election results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Supreme Court Justice Jackson gets support from conservatives in first majority ruling

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson issued her first majority opinion Tuesday since joining the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jackson wrote the opinion in the case of Delaware vs. Pennsylvania Et. Al — a case concerning a dispute between multiple states on escheatment of unclaimed money.

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The court overruled objections from Delaware and greenlighted the continued authority of a Special Master in the proceedings consistent with the court opinion.

The eight other justices unanimously supported Parts I, II, III, and IV-A of the opinion. She was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh in her opinion regarding Part IV-B. Justices Neil Gorsuch, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett did not concur with Part IV-B.

Jackson wrote her first opinion in November 2022, a short dissenting opinion that supported Ohio death row inmate Davel Chinn's motion.

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The justice's November dissenting opinion was at odds with the rest of the court, save fellow Justice Sotomayor.

Justices on the Supreme Court have attested to a good working environment between colleagues despite perceived ideological differences.

Supreme Court Justice Kavanaugh offered praise for Jackson last month, telling an audience at the University of Notre Dame Law School that she has "hit the ground running."

Kavanaugh was present for a keynote Q&A session at the 2023 Notre Dame Law Review Federal Courts Symposium, where he addressed the perception that the Supreme Court is sharply divided on ideological grounds after a series of controversial decisions that went in favor of conservatives. 

"There are great relations among all nine justices both personally and professionally. We only get tough cases, and we disagree on some of those. I think that's more nuanced than it is sometimes portrayed," Kavanaugh said.

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

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