Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas received millions in gifts over 20 years, group says
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted more than $2 million in gifts over the last 20 years, according to a new analysis, far eclipsing the value of those received by his fellow justices.
A report released Thursday by the advocacy group Fix the Court said the value of 93 gifts to all of Thomas’ fellow justices between 2004 and 2023 were totaled $248,000, while Thomas alone received 103 gifts worth $2.4 million.
In addition to that haul, Fix the Court flagged another 101 “likely gifts” to Thomas worth nearly $1.8 million stemming from free luxury travel and lodging he received from billionaire Harlan Crow and others.
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If those gifts are counted, Thomas’ 20-year bonanza jumps to nearly $4.2 million.
The report came ahead of the Friday release of the nine justices’ annual financial disclosure statements, and amid a period of intense scrutiny of the court’s ethics – much of it centered on Thomas, the court’s longest-serving justice.
On Friday, Thomas amended a previous report to show he traveled in 2019 to an Indonesian island and to an exclusive all-male retreat in California on the dime of billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.
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Thursday's Fix the Court report doesn't allege that the gifts were prohibited by the court's rules.
"One thing that stuck out is that Thomas's gifts seem more valuable," said Joshua Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law. The late Justice Sandra Day O'Connor "received 73 gifts, for a total of $35,000," he said, with an average value of $500 per gift, while "Thomas received 193 gifts, for a total of $4 million, about $20,000 per gift."
Fix the Court largely based its analysis on reporting by the news outlet ProPublica that revealed how politically wired billionaires had lavished Thomas and, to a lesser extent, Justice Samuel Alito, with gifts and luxury travel.
Alito was second on Fix the Court’s list of gift recipients, with 16 gifts valued at $170,095.
The court last November instituted its first-ever code of conduct, but critics noted it had no enforcement mechanism. The court’s press office didn’t respond to a request for comment on Thursday’s report.
Contributing: Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Clarence Thomas accepted millions, group says