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submitted 5 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday formally disclosed a 2019 trip to Indonesia paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, a vacation that was at the center of the controversy over his travel.

The trip to Bali was the focus of the original report in ProPublica last year that triggered months of headlines about posh travel accepted by justices. Though the news organization’s reporting raised awareness of the trip, Thomas did not formally disclose it on his previous reports.

Thomas’ annual financial disclosure, which would typically disclose travel, gifts and outside income for the prior year, included a note at the end listing Harlan and Kathy Crow as the source of a trip to Bali in July 2019. The couple paid for “food and lodging,” according to the report. Thomas did not place a value on the travel.

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[-] snekerpimp@lemmy.world 141 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

“There, I disclosed my bribes, are you happy now?” (edit:spelling)

[-] FrostyTrichs@sh.itjust.works 38 points 5 months ago

“There, is disclosed my bribes, are you happy now?”

Yeah but who bribed him to disclose this?

[-] UnculturedSwine@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago

Might be a solicitation for bribes from Congress. He's made his message clear that he wants more money and Congress certainly has the power to grant that. I don't think it would stop him from screwing over minorities tho.

[-] dhork@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

Congress can help by impeaching him and removing him from office, then he can take his RV cross-country on a speaking tour talking about how unfair it all is and he can rake in the dough without having to report any of it

[-] zbyte64@awful.systems 3 points 5 months ago

Could be the other justices so that the preserve their own power. Or it could be that some journalist had done their homework and this was a way to get out in front of it. There's many self-serving reasons outside of (direct) money for why this would happen.

[-] SeaJ@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago

More likely he is doing this so Congress stops bugging him for taking bribes.

[-] sukhmel@programming.dev 19 points 5 months ago

But that means something will happen to him for failing to disclose it correctly, right?

*Padme.jpg*

[-] Reverendender@sh.itjust.works 15 points 5 months ago
[-] Confused_Emus@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

They did Isildur wrong in the movie.

#IsildurDidNothingWrong

[-] ikidd@lemmy.world 105 points 5 months ago

I'm beginning to think that maybe Supreme Court justices can't be trusted to manage their finances without outside help and supervision. Perhaps any expenses need to be monitored and the sources verified, and getting money from outside needs to be prosecuted under bribery laws, independent of any "ethics" guidelines.

And are these gifts being taxed? If not, then the IRS needs to get involved. I don't get things given to me that aren't considered income by the tax department, except small things from family. So now we have tax evasion.

The laws are there, enforce them. These unethical fucks aren't immune.

[-] Weirdmusic@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

This is a probably the best way to remove these parasites, do them for tax evasion. I'm assuming a convicted felon cannot be a Supreme Court Justice.

[-] andrew@lemmy.stuart.fun 13 points 5 months ago

That sounds like a great question for the highest court in the country. Wait a minute...

[-] Beetlejuice0001@lemmy.today 61 points 5 months ago

This is blatant bribery of one of the highest judges in the country. It should be on the news every night nonstop. We must riot

[-] GiddyGap@lemm.ee 51 points 5 months ago

Lifetime appointments with zero requirements for accountability is just not a good idea. The founders must have been drunk the day they decided that.

[-] JasonDJ@lemmy.zip 25 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

There's accountability. Judges can be impeached by Congress, in a very similar means to presidents.

However, the GOP has a real tendency to party before country, and they certainly wouldn't let him get impeached while the president has a D next to his name. And if there wasn't a D next to his name, all the better, just "ask" him to retire, no need to go through a trial and let everyone see just how slimy they really are.

[-] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

The airplane wasn't even invented yet, hard to understand someone buying you a vacation 9500 miles away and not needing to quit your job and be gone for 6 months

[-] CptOblivius@lemmy.world 42 points 5 months ago

I have to report if a drug rep buys lunch, rightly so, and this guy gets trips, tuition, etc. Baffles me how a judge can get away with it.

[-] SeaJ@lemm.ee -1 points 5 months ago

At least he reported it this time. That is a new thing for him.

[-] Manifish_Destiny@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

Fantastic. Now it's okay to blatantly take bribes?

[-] BackOnMyBS@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

what even is the point of a Supreme Court Justice reporting if it will have no consequence?

[-] SeaJ@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago

Exactly.

But I don't really see it changing because it would almost certainly require a constitutional amendment. Any congressional legislation that carried a punishment would almost certainly be shot down by the court itself.

[-] Kalkaline@leminal.space 37 points 5 months ago
[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 5 months ago

Relevant except nothing will ever come of this. You do not remove a mullah for corruption. You just follow his pronouncements.

[-] 2ugly2live@lemmy.world 29 points 5 months ago

For fuck's sake, did this man do anything without a bribe? He studied and worked all the way to the supreme court just to be a piece of shit. What a embrassement of a person. I'd say he should be ashamed, but I'd probably have to bribe him to do even that. 🙄

[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 21 points 5 months ago

I guarantee you he was for sale long before the Supreme Court. That's how he got there

[-] TexasDrunk@lemmy.world 5 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I've been for sale for YEARS and ain't nobody buying.

Edit: Shit, that sounded like I was defending him. Not the case. I do not have the skill set or connections to be bought nor do I want to obtain them.

[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago
[-] Zorsith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 months ago

Tree fiddy, take it or leave it

[-] Wogi@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

GODDAYUMIT MONSTA

[-] 3volver@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago

Proper title: "Justice Clarence Thomas, after lying for years, formally admits to accepting bribes and being corrupted".

[-] TheFriar@lemm.ee 5 points 5 months ago

“No further consequences foreseeable.”

[-] zbyte64@awful.systems 16 points 5 months ago

Guys, I'm sure this is typical billionaire behavior, just gifting vacations to patriotic Americans who deserve them. Why I am sure Harlan Crow would be my very best friend if it wasn't for that fact that I am not Black - the power of the Supreme Court has nothing to do with it!

[-] JimSamtanko@lemm.ee 13 points 5 months ago

Now let’s all watch how quickly nothing happens.

[-] mynameisigglepiggle@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

Since nothing will happen, I'm surprised they don't just declare everything as bragging rights. It would be unpatriotic not to splash the cash that you have received because you, and America, are clearly in God's favour according to the Prosperity Gospel.

[-] ohlaph@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago

Why are Justices even allowed to have donors?, it make absolutely zero sense.

[-] IamSparticles@lemmy.zip 2 points 4 months ago

To be clear: he claims the people giving him all these gifts are his "friends". The fact that they are also wealthy donors to the RNC and various conservative issues is (in his mind) coincidental.

[-] Simulation6@sopuli.xyz 2 points 5 months ago

There are better endings to a sentence the starts with ‘Justice Thomas reports’

[-] HurlingDurling@lemmy.world 1 points 4 months ago

That still doesn't make it ok Clarence

[-] anon_8675309@lemmy.world -3 points 5 months ago

Oh good!

/s

this post was submitted on 09 Jun 2024
600 points (99.5% liked)

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