As of: 04/07/2023 5:54 p.m
An arch-conservative judge on the US Supreme Court is causing a stir: Clarence Thomas is said to have repeatedly had luxury trips paid for by a billionaire. Democrats are calling for his removal from the judiciary.
In the US, a judge of the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court, is under criticism. According to a report, Clarence Thomas took part in luxury trips and paid nothing for them. According to investigative publication ProPublica, Thomas’ travel for years has been paid for by Harlan Crow, a billionaire who is also a major donor to conservative projects. The judge did not disclose these invitations.
As an example, “ProPublica” cites a trip to Indonesia in 2019: Thomas spent it with his wife on board the billionaire’s yacht. The couple was also on Crow’s private jet.
Hospitality for “dear friends”
According to the report, Thomas did not respond to a detailed questionnaire that was sent to him about the invitations. In a statement, he now said his colleagues had told him at the time that this type of invitation “by close personal friends who have nothing to do with the court” was not reportable.
Billionaire Crow said the hospitality he has shown the Thomases over the years is no different than the hospitality he has shown “to many other dear friends.” He never tried to influence the judge’s decisions.
Arch-conservative attitudes and closeness to Trump
The arch-conservative judge Thomas had recently caused a stir again and again. A statement by the lawyer about the verdict overturning the right to abortion in the USA triggered horror last year. He wrote that decisions enshrining the right to contraception, same-sex marriage, or sex between same-sex partners also needed to be reviewed.
According to media reports, after Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 presidential election, his wife Ginni Thomas is said to have made efforts to counteract the outcome of the election. She is considered a loyal Trump supporter. Critics have called for Thomas not to sit on the bench because of bias in Trump-related cases at the Supreme Court. So far, Thomas has not complied.
Criticism from Democrats and party friends
“The highest court in the country shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards,” said Democrat Dick Durbin, chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee. Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called for Thomas to be removed from the judiciary.
Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General under former Republican President George W. Bush, told CNN he didn’t think the invitations influenced Thomas’ decisions. But he is concerned about the public image of the Supreme Court.