Clarence Thomas said yesterday that he did not disclose luxury travel paid for by a Republican donor because he was advised at the time that he did not have to report it. Uh huh. Via CNN:
In a rare statement sent via the Supreme Court’s public information office, Thomas said that the trips he and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, took with the donor Harlan Crow and his wife – whom Thomas describes as among his family’s “dearest friends” – were the “sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends” that he was advised did not require disclosure.
Thomas’ travel with the Crows, which included trips on the donor’s yacht and private jet, was the subject of a bombshell ProPublica report published Thursday. Congressional Democrats have called for an investigation into the matter and for a stronger ethics code for the justices, and some federal judges are also speaking out.
The justice notes that the guidelines for reporting personal hospitality have been recently changed.
“And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future,” Thomas said.
And here's what Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse had to say about that:
