Justice Clarence Thomas Accused of Ethics Violations Following Report

An investigation from ProPublica found that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose trips and gifts accepted from a Republican mega-donor for over two decades.

Details: The report named real estate magnate Harlan Crow as the Republican mega-donor, reporting that “for more than two decades, Thomas has accepted luxury trips virtually every year from the Dallas businessman without disclosing them,” and determining that “the extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.” Crow denied accusations that the gifts constituted an ethics violation, issuing a statement reading, “we have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue.”

Response: The Hill quoted Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) indicating the committee will look into the report and stating, “this behavior is simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called for Thomas to be impeached, tweeting, “this is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking - almost cartoonish.”

How The Media Covered It: Left-rated outlets are covering the story prominently. Center- and right-rated outlets are covering it mildly.