Clarence Thomas officially discloses trips from billionaire GOP donor

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas released his annual financial disclosure on Thursday, acknowledging a series of trips on private jets paid for by billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow.

The disclosure, which covers all of 2022, shows that Thomas traveled on Crow's private plane at least four times last year. The conservative justice included a note on the disclosure claiming that the usage of a private jet was due to security concerns following the leaked draft opinion of the Court overturning Roe v. Wade. "Because of the increased security risk following the Dobbs opinion leak, the May flights were by private plane for official travel as filer's security detail recommended noncommercial travel whenever possible," Thomas wrote.

The use of private aviation by Thomas is not new, as he "first reported private jet travel in the 1990s, and even as those disclosures dropped off by the mid-2000s, he has continued such travel over decades," The New York Times reported. However, his relationship with Crow has come under fire following an investigation by ProPublica earlier this year, which alleged that Thomas has been treated to luxury vacations by the GOP donor for more than 20 years.

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This includes trips around the world on Crow's superyacht and jet, in addition to a number of vacations at the donor's private estate. Crow also purchased the home of Thomas' mother in Savannah, Georgia, in 2014. ProPublica reported that the extent of these gifts "have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court."

In a statement accompanying the disclosure, Thomas' attorney wrote that the justice "has always strived for full transparency and adherence to the law, including with respect to what personal travel needed to be reported." The statement claimed that Thomas was being attacked for "alleged ethical violations largely stemming from his relationships with personal friends who happen to be wealthy."