A brand new report on Thursday alleged even deeper monetary ties between Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow.
According to ProPublica, Crow paid for personal school tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew Mark Martin, whom Thomas mentioned he used to be elevating as a son.
The newsletter mentioned Crow paid $6,200 per month tuition for Martin’s attendance at Hidden Lake Academy in 2009, mentioning a financial institution commentary and an interview with a former administrator on the school. That former administrator informed ProPublica Crow informed him he additionally paid for Martin’s tuition at Randolph-Macon Academy, which he attended earlier than Hidden Lake Academy.
The general quantity paid through Crow is unclear however can have exceeded $150,000, the opening reported. Thomas did not report the bills on his monetary disclosure filings, although he did reveal any other $5,000 reward for Martin’s schooling from any other person in 2002.
Crow’s place of work mentioned in a commentary equipped to ABC News Crow “has long been passionate about the importance of quality education and giving back to those less fortunate, especially at-risk youth” and that he and his spouse have supported many younger Americans via training.
“These scholarships and other contributions have always been paid solely from personal funds, sometimes held at and paid through the family business,” the place of work mentioned. “It’s disappointing that those with partisan political interests would try to turn helping at-risk youth with tuition assistance into something nefarious or political.”
Neither the Supreme Court nor Justice Thomas has commented to ABC News at the new ProPublica report.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses all over a bunch portrait on the Supreme Court in Washington, October 7, 2022.
Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters, FILE
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., in gentle of the ProPublica report, reupped his request that Crow make a complete accounting of his hospitality to Thomas — and threatened motion if he didn’t comply.
“With every new revelation in this case, it becomes clearer that Harlan Crow has been subsidizing an extravagant lifestyle that Justice Thomas and his family could not otherwise afford,” Wyden mentioned in a commentary. “This is a foul breach of ethics standards, which are already far too low when it comes to the Supreme Court. I gave Mr. Crow until May 8th to provide a full account of the gifts he provided to Justice Thomas’s family. Should he fail to comply, I will explore using other tools at the committee’s disposal to obtain this critical information.”
Thomas has been beneath scrutiny since ProPublica’s first report closing month appearing he and his spouse have been handled to luxurious personal commute and lodging from Crow and didn’t reveal them on his annual monetary disclosure filings.
Thomas, in keeping with that report, mentioned it used to be his figuring out that he wasn’t no longer required to report “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends.”
The revelations have brought about Democrats to push for better oversight of the Supreme Court and calls for justices to undertake a proper code of habits. The top courtroom is the one federal department that’s not matter to an enforceable ethics code.
“I hope that Chief Justice Roberts reads this story this morning and understands something has to be done,” Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., mentioned on Thursday. “The reputation of the Supreme Court is at stake here, the credibility of the court when it comes to its future decisions is at stake, and his reputation as the leader of this court is really at issue as well.”
Harlan Crow, chairman and leader govt officer of Crow Holdings LLC, sits for {a photograph} on the Old Parkland property places of work in Dallas, Oct. 2, 2015.
Chris Goodney/Bloomberg by way of Getty Images, FILE
But any legislative effort to pressure the courtroom to undertake a code will face steep Republican opposition. GOP lawmakers, all over a Senate Judiciary Committee listening to this week, got here to Thomas’ protection and accused Democrats of “selective outrage” as they indexed different justices who in the past gained all-expense-paid journeys and financial awards.
“He’s obviously been targeted, because he is a conservative black man and he is on the Supreme Court, in an effort to undercut the legitimacy of the court,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, mentioned on Thursday. “I think the best thing for Chief Justice Roberts and the judges to do is to take this experience an go back and consider whether there are changes in their code of ethics for the Supreme Court are appropriate.”
Ethics for the courtroom are “not for Congress to dictate,” Cornyn mentioned.
The justices, too, have rebutted proposals for impartial oversight and obligatory compliance with ethics regulations.
In a joint commentary, all 9 justices pledged their voluntary adherence to a basic code of habits and “consult a wide variety of authorities to address specific ethical issues.”
“This statement aims to provide new clarity to the bar and to the public on how justices address certain recurring issues,” they wrote, “and also seeks to dispel some common misconceptions.”
-ABC News’ Allison Pecorin and Trish Turner contributed to this report.
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