Clarence Thomas

Investigations revealed that Thomas had accepted private jet flights, yacht cruises and stays paid for or provided by billionaire Harlan Crow over many years, several of which were omitted from his financial disclosures. Thomas subsequently amended forms and, in 2024, acknowledged that two 2019 trips had been 'inadvertently omitted'. New disclosure rules also clarified the requirement to report certain travel and accommodation.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

In 1999, businessman Anthony Welters lent Thomas $267,230 to purchase a luxury motorhome. An investigation by the Senate Finance Committee concluded, based on the lender's documents, that Thomas had paid interest but had not repaid a substantial portion of the principal before Welters considered the loan settled, raising the question of forgiven debt that might have needed to be reported as a gift or income.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Directly implicated

Ginni Thomas's text messages to Mark Meadows showed that she urged Trump's team to continue efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. In January 2022, Clarence Thomas was the only justice who favoured granting Trump's request to block the release of White House records to the January 6 Committee, prompting calls for his recusal after his wife's activities were revealed. In 2023, he recused himself from a John Eastman appeal concerning January 6 emails.

State of the evidence

Documented

In 2014, a Harlan Crow company purchased three properties in Savannah owned by Thomas and members of his family for $133,363, including the house where his mother lived. Thomas did not include this transaction in his 2014 financial disclosure. Following ProPublica's revelation in 2023, he added the transaction to his subsequent disclosure.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Beyond Harlan Crow, ProPublica documented dozens of stays, private jet journeys, excursions and other benefits received from billionaires including H. Wayne Huizenga, David Sokol and Paul Novelly. The investigation identified at least 38 destination holidays and 26 private jet flights over several decades, many of which did not appear in public disclosures.

State of the evidence

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Directly implicated

In his concurring opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Thomas supported overturning Roe v. Wade and wrote that the Court should, in future cases, reconsider its substantive due process precedents, expressly citing Griswold (contraception), Lawrence (same-sex sexual relations) and Obergefell (same-sex marriage). This position provoked nationwide controversy over the security of rights unrelated to abortion.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Thomas attended at least two events organised by the Koch political network; in January 2018, he attended a private dinner at a major donor summit in Palm Springs. ProPublica reported that former network employees regarded him as a draw for donors. The private flight that brought him to Palm Springs did not appear in his annual disclosure form.

State of the evidence

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Directly implicated

Thomas's financial disclosure forms stated 'none' for his wife's non-investment employment income, although Ginni Thomas had received, among other payments, $686,589 from the Heritage Foundation between 2003 and 2007. After Common Cause raised the issue, Thomas prepared amendments covering several years.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Harlan Crow paid private school fees for Mark Martin, a grandnephew of whom Thomas had obtained legal custody and whom he said he was raising 'as a son'. ProPublica identified a bank payment of $6,200 for one month in 2009, and a former administrator stated that Crow had paid for at least one full year, with indications of further years. Thomas did not disclose these payments, although he had previously disclosed another educational gift from friends.

State of the evidence

Documented

During Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Anita Hill, who had worked under his supervision at the EEOC and Department of Education, accused him of sexual harassment, describing, among other things, unsolicited sexual remarks. Witnesses testified that Hill had told them at the time about inappropriate conduct. The case turned the confirmation into a national crisis, and Thomas was ultimately confirmed by the Senate by 52 votes to 48.

Attribution

Directly implicated