Clarence Thomas, Undisclosed Luxury Trips, And Supreme Court Ethics
1A
NPR
4.3 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 17 April 2023
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A ProPublica investigation found that Justice Thomas went on luxury trips with Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow for 20 years and did not include them on his financial disclosures.
Justice Thomas said he consulted with his colleagues at the beginning of his tenure on the court. It was his understanding that he didn't need to report "personal hospitality from close personal friends."
The Senate Judiciary Committee plans on holding a hearing to discuss the Supreme Court's ethical standards.
We discuss the rules that govern what justices can do and who they can have relationships with.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Trips on superyots and private jets, something Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been |
| 0:13.6 | able to enjoy for years thanks to the generosity of a billionaire Republican donor. |
| 0:18.9 | Pro-Publica investigated the extent of these luxury trips and revealed that Justice Thomas |
| 0:23.6 | never included them in his financial disclosures. |
| 0:26.8 | According to that reporting, one vacation he took with billionaire Harlan Crowe in 2019 |
| 0:32.4 | was worth $500,000. |
| 0:35.1 | Crowe also bought property from Justice Thomas and his family in Georgia. |
| 0:38.7 | That was never disclosed either. |
| 0:40.7 | Justice Thomas has sat on the high court for almost 32 years. |
| 0:44.3 | For 25 of those years, he's had what he describes as a close friendship with Harlan Crowe. |
| 0:49.5 | Thomas says he's done nothing wrong. |
| 0:51.8 | The Pro-Publica investigation raises new questions about what standards are in place for |
| 0:56.0 | the highest court in the land and why there isn't a code of ethics for its justice. |
| 1:01.0 | We answer those questions and get into a lot more after the break. |
| 1:04.4 | I'm Jen White. |
| 1:05.7 | You're listening to the 1A podcast where we get to the heart of the story. |
| 1:09.0 | We'll be back in just a moment. |
| 1:12.7 | Let's get into it. |
| 1:16.9 | Joining us now is Josh Kaplan. |
| 1:19.0 | He's one of the reporters at Pro-Publica who worked on this investigation. |
| 1:22.0 | Josh, welcome to 1A. |
| 1:23.0 | Thanks so much for having me. |
... |
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