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impeach clarence thomas
'He Must Be Impeached': Clarence Thomas Made Undisclosed Property Deal With Billionaire Megadonor
"Harlan Crow is not, as Thomas claims, his 'dearest friend' so much as his corrupt benefactor," said one critic. "Thomas is unfit to serve on any court, let alone our nation's highest court."
Apr 13, 2023
New revelations about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's business dealings with Texas Republican megadonor Harlan Crow on Thursday led to intensified calls for the right-wing justice's impeachment, as ProPublica reported on a previously undisclosed real estate transaction between the two men.
A week after the first report on Crow's funding of Thomas' travel was published, ProPublica revealed that Crow purchased two vacant lots and the home where Thomas' mother lived, all owned by Thomas and his family, in Savannah, Georgia in 2014.
The purchase, completed for $133,363, marked "the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice," the news outlet reported.
Federal disclosure laws state that in most cases, Supreme Court justices and other government officials must disclose real estate transactions over $1,000.
"Thomas did not disclose the purchase as required by law. He must be impeached," said Democratic strategist Sawyer Hackett.
\u201cWoah. Billionaire Harlan Crow didn\u2019t just provide lavish travel and accommodations to Clarence Thomas\u2014according to @propublica, he also bought property from him.\n\nThomas did not disclose the purchase as required by law. He must be impeached. https://t.co/kiVkv2T1FL\u201d— Sawyer Hackett (@Sawyer Hackett) 1681410648
Exceptions to the law include cases in which someone sells "property used solely as a personal residence of the reporting individual or the individual's spouse," but legal experts confirmed to ProPublica that the sale of the Savannah properties did not meet the criteria for any of the exemptions.
"He needed to report his interest in the sale," Virginia Canter, chief ethics counsel at watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), told ProPublica.
The news outlet's previous reporting on Crow and Thomas revealed that the billionaire paid for Thomas to travel on a Bombardier Global 5000 jet, to Crow's ranch in Texas, and to his private resort in the Adirondacks—all of which was left off federal disclosure forms.
"Given the role Crow has played in subsidizing the lifestyle of Thomas and his wife, you have to wonder if this was an effort to put cash in their pockets," Canter said of the real estate sale in Savannah.
Crow released a statement on Thursday saying he had purchased Thomas' family home—which he still owns and where the justice's mother continued living until at least 2020, according to public records—to "one day create a public museum at the Thomas home dedicated to telling the story of our nation's second black Supreme Court Justice."
"I approached the Thomas family about my desire to maintain this historic site so future generations could learn about the inspiring life of one of our greatest Americans," said Crow.
Critics suggested the statement raised more questions than it answered.
\u201chey look what\u2019s a totally not-at-all shady real estate deal between friends? haven\u2019t YOUR friends bought your childhood home for your benefit? https://t.co/Dim6Ol4kBe\u201d— b-boy bouiebaisse (@b-boy bouiebaisse) 1681412441
"Clarence Thomas previously said that free flights on Harlan Crow's private jet counted as 'hospitality' and thus did not have to be disclosed," said Slate journalist Mark Joseph Stern. "That made no sense, but this is even worse. How is a covert real estate deal that enriched Thomas 'hospitality'? This is pretty brazen."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs for Stand Up America, said the new reporting offers clear evidence that "Justice Thomas' vote on the Supreme Court is bought and paid for by right-wing billionaire Harlan Crow."
"Crow is not, as Thomas claims, his 'dearest friend' so much as his corrupt benefactor," said Edkins. "Thomas is unfit to serve on any court, let alone our nation's highest court. His failure to disclose his close financial dealings with a GOP billionaire has single-handedly destroyed what little credibility this MAGA Court had left."
"Failing to hold Justice Thomas accountable, hold hearings, and pass a Supreme Court code of ethics," he added, would be a dereliction of duty by federal lawmakers.
Demand Justice released polling data showing that 70% of Americans would back a federal investigation into alleged ethics violations of Supreme Court justices.
"This shady land deal amounts to a payoff of a sitting Supreme Court justice, plain and simple. Senate Democrats need to announce a thorough investigation into the details of Clarence Thomas' ties to Harlan Crow, including calling witnesses to get to the bottom of their financial relationship and Thomas' apparent lawbreaking," said Demand Justice executive director Brian Fallon.
"[Former Supreme Court Justice] Abe Fortas resigned under threat of impeachment for less," he noted, "and while impeachment may not be possible here with Republicans in control of the House, Thomas needs to face real accountability for his likely illegal behavior. Polls show that if Senate Democrats act, the public will strongly support them."
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AOC Says Clarence Thomas 'Must Be Impeached' Over 'Almost Cartoonish' Corruption
"Barring some dramatic change," said the New York Democrat, "this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights."
Apr 06, 2023
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that right-wing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should be impeached by the U.S. House in the wake of ProPublica reporting that exposed the judge's billionaire-funded luxury vacations.
"This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking—almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached," Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who demanded Thomas' resignation last year amid a separate ethics scandal, wrote on Twitter.
"Barring some dramatic change," she added, "this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights."
The new investigative reporting revealed that Thomas has taken trips funded by billionaire real estate magnate Harlan Crow "virtually every year" for more than two decades.
Thomas did not disclose any of the vacations, which experts and watchdog organizations said is likely a violation of federal law.
"Thomas failed even to follow the obscenely weak ethics standards on the books for Supreme Court justices," Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project, said in a statement.
"If the information in this report is correct—and there is no reason at all to believe that it isn't—and if the point of the United States judiciary is still to neutrally interpret and uphold the law, then it is obvious what should happen next," said Hauser. "The House of Representatives must immediately draw articles of impeachment against Justice Clarence Thomas."
This isn't the first time Thomas has come under fire for failing to adhere to federal disclosure requirements, which were recently strengthened for Supreme Court justices and other federal judges thanks to a pressure campaign led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Between 1997 and 2007, Thomas failed to disclose income that his wife, right-wing activist Ginni Thomas, received from the conservative Heritage Foundation and other sources. The justice amended his disclosures in 2011, claiming he misunderstood the filing instructions—an explanation that watchdogs met with skepticism.
And while ProPublica's reporting offered the most detailed look yet at Thomas' relationship with Crow, the ties between the two were spotlighted more than a decade ago by The New York Times, which noted in a 2011 story the billionaire "has done many favors for the justice and his wife... helping finance a Savannah library project dedicated to Justice Thomas, presenting him with a Bible that belonged to Frederick Douglass, and reportedly providing $500,000 for Ms. Thomas to start a Tea Party-related group."
"These actions are part of a pattern of corruption that betrays Thomas' deep-seated contempt for the rule of law."
Brett Edkins, managing director of policy and political affairs for the progressive advocacy group Stand Up America, said Thursday that Thomas' repeated failure to disclose gifts from Crow represents "a shameless abuse of power and an affront to the American people."
"Sadly, these actions are part of a pattern of corruption that betrays Thomas' deep-seated contempt for the rule of law. No one is above the law—not even Supreme Court justices," said Edkins. "Our highest court must be held to a higher ethical standard. Congress has a constitutional duty to act quickly by passing a Supreme Court code of ethics and investigating the full extent of Justice Thomas' wrongdoing."
The Supreme Court is the only court in the U.S. that does not currently have a binding ethics code, opening the door to the kinds of conflicts of interest that have plagued the powerful judicial body for decades.
Hauser argued that because the House is highly unlikely to launch impeachment proceedings given the GOP's control of the chamber, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) should "immediately begin extensive investigations into Thomas' violations of ethics laws and norms as well as the broader collapse of the Supreme Court's integrity."
"Anyone who believes that the law is only legitimate if it applies to everyone should understand and endorse that Durbin must immediately investigate these allegations, that the House must immediately draw articles of impeachment, and that if this information proves accurate, Thomas must immediately leave the bench," Hauser said. "Moreover, it should be indisputable that the judiciary as a whole, and the Supreme Court especially, needs far stronger ethical rules and enforcement."
In a statement, Durbin said that Thomas' behavior is "simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a justice on the Supreme Court."
"The ProPublica report is a call to action," he added, "and the Senate Judiciary Committee will act."
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