Criticism of Clarence Thomas
US constitutional judge defends invitation to luxury travel
04/07/2023, 7:31 p.m
US constitutional judge Thomas has always been good for a scandal in the past. Now there is criticism that, according to a report, he has repeatedly accepted invitations from a conservative billionaire to go on luxury trips without making this public. The judge defends himself.
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has defended himself against allegations that he did not make luxury trips he was invited to transparent. According to the media, Thomas explained that 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.
After a report on paid luxury trips, there was previously sharp criticism of Thomas. “The highest court in the country shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards,” said Democrat Dick Durbin, chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee. background is on Report of the investigative publication “ProPublica”. Accordingly, Thomas is said to have accepted luxury trips from a billionaire for years, who is a major donor to conservative projects.
Thomas is said not to have disclosed these invitations. “ProPublica” cites as an example a trip to Indonesia in 2019 that Thomas and his wife Ginni spent on board real estate magnate Harlan Crow’s yacht – they were also on his private jet. “The hospitality we have shown the Thomas’ over the years is no different than the hospitality we have shown our many other dear friends,” explained billionaire Crow. He never tried to influence the judge’s decisions.
Wife wanted to take action against the outcome of the election
The arch-conservative judge had recently repeatedly caused a stir. A statement by the lawyer, which he published in the wake of 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.
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.