Press Releases
Accountable.US Statement on Justice Thomas’s Lavish Lifestyle Bankrolled by Wealthy Friends
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, new reporting from ProPublica provided the most comprehensive look yet at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s lavish lifestyle bankrolled by wealthy friends — revealing how Thomas’s social circle has funded a steady stream of extravagant excursions and events since he became a justice. As usual, ethics experts believe Thomas may have violated the law by failing to disclose the unusual gifts. Accountable.US senior advisor Kyle Herrig released the following statement:
Justice Thomas clearly sees his position on our nation’s highest court as a way to upgrade his own lifestyle via his billionaire benefactor social circle. It was his own decades-long improper financial relationship with Harlan Crow that sparked the Supreme Court corruption crisis in the first place — and that was just the tip of the iceberg. Harlan Crow, Justice Thomas, Leonard Leo, and other key players in this Court corruption crisis may believe they exist above the law, but they don't. We need accountability and reform now.”
The lavish gifts underwritten by conservative benefactors include: “at least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.” According to legal ethics experts, the level of largesse is “unprecedented.”
