signalmankenneth
Verified User
I am shocked, shocked to find that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ commitment to originalism — that is, the belief that legal texts should be interpreted as they were understood when they were adopted — comes to a screeching halt the minute he slides off the bench.
When Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act in 1978, which requires government officials to report gifts, I’m pretty sure legislators had in mind exactly the sort of relationship Thomas has with the Republican megadonor and Nazi memorabilia collector Harlan Crow.
I mean, maybe nothing can stop a venal Supreme Court justice from being lavished with gifts by a conservative billionaire (the rules are lax compared to other public servants), but Congress most certainly requires the grabby justice to disclose the billionaire’s generosity.
Thanks to spectacular reporting last week by the nonprofit investigative outfit ProPublica, we now know that for at least two decades, Crow has served as Clarence and Ginni Thomas’ patron, benefactor, sponsor and, let’s face it, fairy godfather. He has showered them with gifts, trips and all sorts of unseemly favors.
And on Thursday, came a second damning ProPublica investigation:
In 2014, one of Crow’s companies purchased a home owned by Thomas and his relatives in Savannah, Ga., and immediately began thousands of dollars of upgrades. The home is the longtime residence of Thomas’ mother.
“The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice,” reported ProPublica. Thomas did not report the real estate transaction, as required by federal disclosure law.
Crow told ProPublica that the purchase was part of a plan to create a historical museum honoring the humble roots of the second Black man to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. But that has no bearing on the reporting requirements, as ProPublica has noted.
All the while Thomas was enjoying Crow's largesse, he has posed as a man of the people.
“I don’t have any problem with going to Europe, but I prefer the United States,” Thomas said in a recent documentary funded partially by Crow, according to ProPublica. “I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal about me.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/column-clarence-thomas-calls-hospitality-100040737.html
When Congress passed the Ethics in Government Act in 1978, which requires government officials to report gifts, I’m pretty sure legislators had in mind exactly the sort of relationship Thomas has with the Republican megadonor and Nazi memorabilia collector Harlan Crow.
I mean, maybe nothing can stop a venal Supreme Court justice from being lavished with gifts by a conservative billionaire (the rules are lax compared to other public servants), but Congress most certainly requires the grabby justice to disclose the billionaire’s generosity.
Thanks to spectacular reporting last week by the nonprofit investigative outfit ProPublica, we now know that for at least two decades, Crow has served as Clarence and Ginni Thomas’ patron, benefactor, sponsor and, let’s face it, fairy godfather. He has showered them with gifts, trips and all sorts of unseemly favors.
And on Thursday, came a second damning ProPublica investigation:
In 2014, one of Crow’s companies purchased a home owned by Thomas and his relatives in Savannah, Ga., and immediately began thousands of dollars of upgrades. The home is the longtime residence of Thomas’ mother.
“The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice,” reported ProPublica. Thomas did not report the real estate transaction, as required by federal disclosure law.
Crow told ProPublica that the purchase was part of a plan to create a historical museum honoring the humble roots of the second Black man to be confirmed to the Supreme Court. But that has no bearing on the reporting requirements, as ProPublica has noted.
All the while Thomas was enjoying Crow's largesse, he has posed as a man of the people.
“I don’t have any problem with going to Europe, but I prefer the United States,” Thomas said in a recent documentary funded partially by Crow, according to ProPublica. “I prefer the Walmart parking lots to the beaches and things like that. There’s something normal about me.”
https://www.yahoo.com/news/column-clarence-thomas-calls-hospitality-100040737.html