Information obtained by the Senate Judiciary Committee and released Thursday reveals that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose three trips funded by GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow, The Hill reports. According to the panel, Thomas did not disclose information on three trips he took on private jets funded by Crow: a trip from St. Louis to Montana and back to Dallas in 2017; round-trip travel from Washington to Savannah, Ga., in 2019; and round-trip travel from Washington to San Jose in 2021. A recent report totaled Thomas's gifts at nearly $4.2 million. “Nearly $4.2 million in gifts and even that wasn’t enough for Justice Thomas, with at least three additional trips the Committee found that he has failed to disclose to date,” Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in a statement.
Thomas, through attorney Elliot S. Berke, pushed back on the allegations. Berke said the information disclosed by Crow fell under the “personal hospitality exemption” and was not required to be disclosed, “Consequently, and as Justice Thomas has already explained, he and many other federal judges were advised that they were not required to report gifts of personal hospitality from friends who did not have business before the Court.” Durbin also noted that the information from Crow was obtained due to a panel from the subpoena after increasing questions about the gifts received by justices. Shortly before the committee’s revelations were unveiled, Crow’s office issued a statement noting he agreed to hand over seven years worth of documents and information in exchange for the panel ending its probe. However, Durbin would say only that there “may be some new evidence that comes out” in the coming days.