The debate over Clarence Thomas' luxury vacations

The Supreme Court justice has found himself at the center of a sticky ethical dilemma

activists call for the impeachment of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas outside of the U.S. Capitol Building
(Image credit: Paul Morigi/Getty Images for MoveOn)

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has recently come under heavy scrutiny after a ProPublica report revealed he had taken several luxury vacations over the past two decades financed by billionaire Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow, which he never disclosed on financial disclosure forms. The lavish trips included flights on Crow's private jets and cruises on his "superyacht," one of which would have cost Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, over $500,000, ProPublica estimated. The extent of gifts Thomas received from Crow has "no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court," ProPublica said.

Thomas stopped reporting his received gifts in 2004 after the Los Angeles Times reported on the tens of thousands of dollars worth of gifts he had accepted over the previous six years, much of which came from Crow.

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Theara Coleman, The Week US

Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.