Justice Clarence Thomas and His Billionaire Friend

WSJ Opinion: Potomac Watch

The Wall Street Journal

Society & Culture, News

4 • 2.7K Ratings

🗓️ 12 April 2023

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Another campaign against Justice Clarence Thomas is afoot, this time citing his friendship with Texas billionaire Harlan Crow. Justice Thomas has reportedly spent time on Crow's ranch, yacht, resort and private jet, but without an apparent conflict of interest. Plus, Sen. Tim Scott launches an exploratory committee for President in 2024 with a welcome message of GOP optimism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Join the Wall Street Journal for the WSJ Risk and Compliance Forum happening online May 9th.
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0:23.3	From the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal, this is Potomac Watch.
0:34.3	Justice Clarence Thomas comes under fire from the left for his relationship with a Texas billionaire
0:40.6	as South Carolina Senator Tim Scott announces an exploratory committee for president.
0:46.8	Welcome, I'm Kyle Peterson with the Wall Street Journal. We are joined today by my colleagues,
0:52.0	editorial board member Kate Batchelder O'Dell and columnist Kim Strassel. Welcome to you both.
0:58.2	The investigative news outlet ProPublica has made a splash with a report late last week, saying that
1:05.0	Justice Clarence Thomas has had a long time friendship with Texas billionaire Harlan Crowe and has
1:11.3	spent time on Crowe's super yacht at his ranch at a private resort in upstate New York and on Crowe's
1:18.3	jet, which the ProPublica story paints as incongruous for a public servant who has a salary of $285,000.
1:28.5	Democratic Congressman Ted Liu has already called on Thomas to resign for the good of the country.
1:34.8	Here is Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on CNN last week.
1:40.0	Justice Thomas has been on the court for 30 years and so to say what he is admitting in his
1:46.5	statement in an attempt to defend himself is that he began this relationship with a billionaire
1:52.0	and receiving these sorts of gifts as after he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
1:57.9	I think that that, in and of itself, indicates a very, very serious problem and then on top of that,
2:04.4	he is now implicating his colleagues and I do believe that Chief Justice John Roberts
2:10.7	must now come forward and state if he allows and is allowing this kind of very serious corruption to
2:18.8	happen on this court. Kate, what do you make of this controversy? Well, Kyle, I think it's
	...

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