US Supreme Court’s Thomas discloses flights by private jet
2023.08.31 11:05
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses during a group portrait at the Supreme Court in Washington, U.S., October 7, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein/File Photo
By Andrew Chung and John Kruzel
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas took private jet flights provided by billionaire Texas businessman Harlan Crow, according to a 2022 financial disclosure report made public on Thursday.
Thomas listed trips by private jet to Dallas, Texas for a conference and to a property in the Adirondacks in upstate New York. He has faced scrutiny after revelations that he had not disclosed luxury trips paid for by the wealthy benefactor.
Fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito also filed a delayed report on Thursday. Both Thomas and Alito had been granted extensions to file their mandatory reports listing outside income and gifts received last year, as required for certain senior government officials. Disclosures by the other seven justices were released in June.
Unlike other members of the federal judiciary, the life-tenured justices have no binding code of conduct, though they are subject to certain financial disclosure laws.
Food and other “personal hospitality” such as lodging at an individual’s residence is generally exempt from disclosure. The Judicial Conference, the policymaking body for the federal judiciary, has tightened its regulations to require disclosure of private jet trips.
