Things have gone from bad to worse for Justice Clarence Thomas after a new report from ProPublica revealed the Republican judge failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.
According to the publication, the transaction marked the first known instance of money flowing between Thomas and his longtime friend, Crow, who bought the properties for $133,363 from Thomas, his mother and the family of Thomas’ late brother.
Justices and other officials are required by law to disclose the details of most real estate sales over $1,000. The news comes on the heels of a previous ProRepublica exposing Thomas’s acceptance of luxury trips for more than two decades. The luxury trips to various locations, including Indonesia, New Zealand, California, Texas and Georgia, spanned over two decades and were gifted to Thomas by Crow. Like the real estate deal, Thomas’ trips appeared nowhere on Thomas’ financial disclosures.
Several Democrats have called for Thomas to be impeached.
“This behavior is simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a justice on the supreme court,” Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, said in a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts. “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. The ProPublica report is a call to action, and the Senate judiciary committee will act.”
Crow released a statement on Thursday saying he had purchased Thomas’ family home to “one day create a public museum at the Thomas home dedicated to telling the story of our nation’s second black Supreme Court Justice.”
“I approached the Thomas family about my desire to maintain this historic site so future generations could learn about the inspiring life of one of our greatest Americans,” said Crow.
“This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking – almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached. Barring some dramatic change, this is what the [chief justice John] Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
Thomas is yet to address ProPublica’s most recent report.
