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Clarence Thomas formally discloses 2019 trips paid for by Harlan Crow as judges’ financial records are released
Supreme Court justices reported book giveaways, gifts and more at the annual proceedings.
June 7, 2024, 2:20 pm ET
• 7 minutes of reading
Justice Clarence Thomas formally revealed for the first time trips to Bali, Indonesia and the elite Bohemian Grove club in California – both paid for by his friend and billionaire Harlan Crow – that were at the center of a Explosive ProPublica Report last year, exposing undeclared financial ties to a Republican Party benefactor.
Thomas acknowledged in his latest annual financial report, released Friday, that he “inadvertently omitted” reimbursement for food and lodging expenses for the July 2019 trip.
He did not disclose the cost of a one-night hotel stay in Bali or three nights at a private club. The judge also did not disclose the private jet transport to Indonesia or the trip on a luxury yacht, both of which were allegedly provided by Crow.
Thomas reported no travel or reimbursements for 2023. He reports accepting a gift last year: a pair of $2,000 photo albums from Terry Giroux, the outgoing executive director of the Horatio Alger Association.
The filings, as required by the Ethics and Government Act of 1978, are the first for Thomas and other justices since the Supreme Court released a formal Code of Conduct late last year, prompted in part by controversy surrounding the ties previously undisclosed of Thomas with Crow.
In this April 23, 2021 file photo, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas sits during a group photo of the justices at the Supreme Court in Washington.Erin Schaff/POOL/AFP via Getty Images, FILEHarlan Crow, Crow President and CEO Holdings LLC, poses for a photograph at the Old Parkland real estate offices in Dallas, Texas, October 2, 2015.Chris Goodney/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Justice Samuel Alito was the only judge who received an extension to present his report.
The records offer one of the only windows into the financial interests of Supreme Court justices and their spouses, providing a modicum of transparency to an otherwise highly opaque branch of government.
Although few judges reported accepting any gifts of value last year, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson noted more than $12,500 in art donated to decorate his chambers and four Beyoncé concert tickets worth more than $3,711.
Several judges reported earning six-figure book royalties, well above government salaries.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who has a legal memoir in the works, reported a $340,000 advance from Regenery Publishing. Judge Jackson, whose memoir is due out in September, noted an advance of $893,750 from Penguin Random House. Justice Neil Gorsuch reported book royalties of $250,000 from Harper Collins, and Justice Sonia Sotomayor noted an $86,783 payment from Penguin.
Members of the Supreme Court sit for a group portrait following the addition of Associate Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington, October 7, 2022. J. Scott Applewhite/AP, FILE
Each associate judge earns $298,500 in annual government salary; the chief justice earns $312,200. Additional “foreign earned income” is limited to $32,000 per year under federal judiciary rules.
“Every judge would be able to earn 10 times their current salary in the private sector, so it is reasonable that they would want to increase their income as authors, especially those with inspiring life stories,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court. , a left-leaning watchdog group. “This may be an unpopular opinion, but I see nothing ethically compromising about it, as long as judges don’t use their offices to sell books, speak to ideologically diverse audiences on their book tours, and refuse to submit petitions involving their publishers. “
Justice Sotomayor reported earning $1,879 for a voiceover role on the PBS animated television series “Alma’s Way.”
Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Kavanaugh and Gorsuch each reported more than $10,000 in law school teaching income.
Many of the judges also indicated acceptance of all-expenses paid travel last year for professional functions – such as conferences, academic ceremonies and historical celebrations.
Chief Justice John Roberts was the only member of the Supreme Court not to list gifts, outside income or travel reimbursement of any kind.
Roth said there is also evidence that several justices paid their own expenses for certain publicly disclosed trips that did not appear on the forms — including Justice Elena Kagan’s trip to San Diego to christen a Navy ship and her participation in a tennis tournament. Judge Barrett also appears to have turned down a $5,000 honorarium for speaking at the University of Minnesota Law School.