Sen. Wyden says Thomas took two more undisclosed flights on donor's jet
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas laughs before speaking to an audience at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas, on Sept. 7, 2017. (Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune-Herald via AP, File)
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s lavish travel provided by Republican donor Harlan Crow included two more flights aboard the billionaire’s private jet that were not publicly disclosed, according to a letter Monday from Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) to Crow’s attorney.
Wyden, the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote that he is seeking additional information about travel that Crow provided to the justice and additional records because he is concerned that Crow might have improperly used the gifts to lower his tax bills, a claim Crow denies.
The two flights add to a long list of travel and other perks Thomas has received from Crow, including private school tuition for a relative and the purchase of the home where Thomas’s mother lived in Georgia.
The largesse and other ethics controversies swirling around the court prompted President Biden to propose a binding ethics code and 18-year term limits for the justices last week, a package of overhauls that has little chance of passing Congress at the moment. Republicans have said that the changes are a political effort aimed at undermining a conservative court.
“The questions I’ve been asking of Mr. Crow and Justice Thomas about these luxury trips and lavish gifts are not really all that complicated,” Wyden said in a statement to the Washington Post. “How many of these trips happened, and when it comes to Mr. Crow’s taxes, is everything on the level or did he claim a whole lot of personal travel as write-offs?”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents show Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, traveled round-trip from Hawaii to New Zealand aboard Crow’s private jet in November 2010, according to the letter. Crow was aboard the flights.
It was unclear how the Thomases traveled to Hawaii or how they got home.
Wyden wrote that Thomas did not list the flights in financial disclosure forms that Supreme Court justices are required to file, even though he has previously amended the forms to include other travel aboard Crow’s jet.
Thomas did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has said disclosure rules at the time of the travel did not require him to report the flights because they fell under a “personal hospitality” exemption. Justices are now required to report such travel.
Michael Zona, a spokesman for Crow, said in a statement that Wyden’s inquiries are “intended to harass a private citizen” and that Congress has no role in tax enforcement.
“Mr. Crow and his businesses are in good standing with the IRS,” Zona said. “He has always followed applicable tax law as advised by national accounting firms who serve as his tax advisors. It’s concerning that Senator Wyden is abusing his committee’s powers as part of a politically motivated campaign against the Supreme Court.”
ProPublica reported that Thomas took an extended trip on Crow’s superyacht, the Michaela Rose, in New Zealand around 2010, but it is unclear if the flights in Wyden’s letter were part of that excursion.
Wyden wrote in his letter that a relative of Thomas’s said the justice had traveled aboard the Michaela Rose in the Caribbean, Russia and the Baltics. The trip to Russia also included flights on a helicopter.
In June, Crow provided documents to the Senate Judiciary Committee that revealed Thomas had taken three other flights aboard Crow’s jet between 2017 and 2021 that were also not previously reported. Crow made the disclosures as part of a deal to resolve the committee’s subpoena of Crow’s records.
The committee said at the time that Crow had paid for 17 flights for Thomas aboard his private jet since 2016. Thomas also revised his financial disclosure forms in June to show he had taken trips to Bali and to a private club in California that were paid for by Crow and that he had not previously reported.
Wyden accused Crow’s attorney of being “evasive” in his responses to the committee about how Crow reported Thomas’s travel aboard his private jet and yacht on his tax filings and was offering the attorney a chance to be more forthcoming. He said neither Crow nor Thomas had provided a complete account of travel paid for by the billionaire.
Wyden said he is considering legislation to address abusive deductions.
Democrats have proposed bills related to the Supreme Court, including one that would cap gifts to justices at $50. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has introduced legislation to impeach Thomas and Justice Samuel A. Alito for not recusing himself from cases following a controversy over politically charged flags flying at his homes and failing to report gifts.
Republicans have blasted the impeachment effort, and it is unlikely to advance.
