Judge Thomas did not disclose private flights in 2010, says senator

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas did not publicly disclose additional travel provided by Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow, a top Democratic senator said Monday, adding to the growing scrutiny the high court faces over its ethical practices.

In a letter told Crow’s lawyer on Monday, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said the committee’s review of Customs and Border Protection’s international flight records found that Thomas and his wife , Virginia, traveled on a round-trip flight between Hawaii and New Zealand in November 2010.

“To date, Judge Thomas has never disclosed this private jet trip on any financial disclosure form, although Judge Thomas has amended the disclosures to reflect other international trips on Mr. Crow’s private jet,” Wyden wrote.

Judges are required to annually submit financial disclosure forms that include any outside sources of income or gifts. Thomas latest financial disclosure it included an amendment to a request made half a decade ago to include two trips paid for by Crow, but did not address the November 2010 round-trip flights, Wyden said.

The New York Times first reported Wyden Letter.

The flights are the latest case in which Thomas failed to disclose trips paid for by Crow. This comes less than two months after the Senate Judiciary Committee concluded that Thomas failed to disclose three other trips he took on Crow-funded private jets in 2017, 2019 and 2021.

Wyden said he was “deeply concerned” that Crow was giving Thomas, a public servant, “extravagant gifts” to write off those gifts and reduce his tax bill.

The Oregon Democrat asked Crow’s attorney to submit additional information about the private jet and superyacht trips.

A spokesperson for Crow said the mega-donor “has already addressed Senator Wyden’s investigations, which have no legal basis and are intended solely to harass a citizen.”

“Congress has no role in imposing taxes. Mr. Crow and his companies are in good standing with the IRS,” the spokesperson added. “He has always followed applicable tax laws, as recommended by national accounting firms who serve as his tax advisors. It is concerning that Senator Wyden is abusing his committee’s powers as part of a politically motivated campaign against the Supreme Court.”

The Hill has reached out to the Supreme Court and Thomas’ attorney for comment.

Thomas, 76, has said in the past that he is not required to disclose the various trips because they are considered personal hospitality from a close friend with no business before the court, according to the Associated Press.

The Supreme Court and its justices have faced increasing criticism over the past year, after ProPublica published a series of investigative reports last year detailing several undisclosed luxury trips, gifts and questionable extrajudicial activities involving Thomas and other justices.

The reports investigated the billionaires, including Crow, behind these gifts and free trips over the years in a series titled “Friends of the Court.”

President Biden last week unveiled his three-pronged proposal to reform the high court, including 18-year term limits for the nine justices, which would allow the sitting president to nominate a new justice every two years. The proposal also includes a binding code of conduct.

There is also an ongoing effort among Senate Democrats to pass a Supreme Court ethics package. Democrats attempted to pass the bill, authored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), by unanimous consent, but it was blocked by Republicans.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story