Tl;dr

NEW: Clarence Thomas secretly accepted lavish luxury travel for decades from a billionaire businessman/GOP donor, in apparent repeat violation of ethics law.

Fmr judge: “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this."https://t.co/JlHQQzTGkm w/@js_kaplan @Amierjeski pic.twitter.com/yeoZsCObwY

— Justin Elliott (@JustinElliott) April 6, 2023

“The Judiciary’s power to manage its internal affairs insulates courts from inappropriate political influence and is crucial to preserving public trust in its work as a separate and co- equal branch of government.”

- CJ Roberts, 2021 Year-End Report on the Federal Judiciary https://t.co/lT1gv3UtPp

— Pete Strzok (@petestrzok) April 6, 2023

“His failure to report the flights appears to violate a law passed after Watergate that requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts, two ethics law experts said. He also should have disclosed his trips on the yacht.” https://t.co/WEu5iIFCD2

— Nick Confessore (@nickconfessore) April 6, 2023

Thread https://t.co/sz3L7F8B1N

— Asha Rangappa (@AshaRangappa_) April 6, 2023

4/ In June 2019, Thomas boarded Crow's private jet to Indonesia for 9 days of island-hopping on Crow's yacht.

Had Thomas chartered the jet and yacht himself, it could have cost him over $500K. pic.twitter.com/nLK3V67yh7

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

8/ Inside Topridge hangs a photorealistic painting of one of Thomas' visits to the 105-acre property in remote upstate NY.

The painting shows Thomas enjoying a cigar alongside Crow and chatting with other conservative power brokers like Leonard Leo: pic.twitter.com/Bq4CYGew30

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

10/ At Crow’s invitation-only resort, guests enjoy boathouses, a clay tennis court, batting cage, a replica of Hagrid's hut from Harry Potter, bronze statues of gnomes & milkshakes at a 1950s-style soda fountain.

For free.

Rooms at a nearby resort start at more than $2K/night. pic.twitter.com/3zZLMszXM3

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

12/ During just one July 2017 trip, Thomas’ fellow guests included execs at Verizon & PricewaterhouseCoopers, major GOP donors, and one of the leaders of the conservative American Enterprise Institute think tank, according to records reviewed by ProPublica.

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

14/ His failure to report the flights appears to violate a federal disclosure law passed after Watergate, according to experts.

By accepting the trips, Thomas has broken long-standing norms for judges’ conduct, ethics experts and four current or retired federal judges said. pic.twitter.com/KqH3NWRkdZ

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

16/ Virginia Canter, a former government ethics lawyer who served in administrations of both parties, said Thomas “seems to have completely disregarded his higher ethical obligations.”

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

17/ Thomas didn’t respond to detailed questions.

In a statement, Crow told ProPublica he never sought to influence the justice and the “hospitality” he’s given Thomas was “no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends.” pic.twitter.com/QCltLTFJHV

— ProPublica (@propublica) April 6, 2023

That statement doesn’t really erase any appearance of conflict of interest.

Maybe Clarence should have sold the peanut farm.

Justice Clarence Thomas did not recuse himself from McDonnell v. United States (2016), which was about whether government officials accepting free stuff from right-wing mega donors is potentially a crime. https://t.co/ln7S65FCvt

— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) April 6, 2023