Clarence Thomas Acknowledges Taking Lavish Trips Paid For By Republican Billionaire

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ latest financial report belatedly acknowledges that he took multiple lavish vacations paid for by Republican billionaire Harlan Crow.

Thomas’ annual financial disclosure report, which confirms at least two of the trips first described in a 2023 ProPublica report, was released Friday.

The trips are detailed on the second-to-last page of the document, where, under a section allotted for “additional information or explanations,” Thomas describes two 2019 trips that were “inadvertently omitted” from his previous disclosures.

One, a July 12, 2019, trip to Bali, acknowledges he was a guest of Harlan and Kathy Crow, who covered the cost of food and lodging.

According to the document, Thomas then took a second vacation on Crow’s dime a week later at a “private club” in Monte Rio, California. The city is home to Bohemian Grove, an all-male, invitation-only retreat.

The document says Thomas included the disclosures after he “sought and received guidance from his accountant and ethics counsel.”

Critics assailed Thomas over the undisclosed trips following ProPublica’s report, accusing the conservative justice of being in the pocket of the Republican megadonor.

Crow has spent more than $16 million supporting conservative political causes, according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that tracks political conflicts of interest.

Thomas’ wife, Ginni, was a cheerleader for and attended Trump’s infamous Jan. 6, 2021, rally, yet Thomas has declined to recuse himself from ruling on whether Donald Trump is immune from being prosecuted for the resulting violence.

Fellow conservative justice Samuel Alito also took at least one undisclosed luxury vacation. The 2008 fishing trip to Alaska, with private travel to and from valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, was paid for by Republican megadonor Paul Singer.

According to ProPublica, which also broke that story, Singer’s hedge fund would later appear before the court at least 10 times. In at least one instance, Alito voted with the majority in a ruling that ended with a $2.4 billion judgment for Singer’s hedge fund.

The Supreme Court adopted an ethics code for the first time following the reports, but court reformers say the code of conduct is effectively worthless since it has no means of enforcement.