Clarence Thomas Faces DOJ Investigation Calls as Anger Grows Over Gifts

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas might soon face an investigation from the Department of Justice (DOJ), as Democratic lawmakers call for more scrutiny over his acceptance of a series of gifts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from wealthy friends.

Recent revelations over the gifts accepted by Thomas in the past couple of decades have sparked a debate over increasing ethics requirements for Supreme Court justices, as well as calls for the justice to resign.

Earlier this year, ProPublica—a New York-based non-profit, independent newsroom conducting investigative journalism in the public interest—said that, for 20 years, Thomas had accepted gifts from friend Harlan Crow, a Republican donor. The gifts included luxury vacations, like a trip to Indonesia in June 2019, which ProPublica said was worth over $500,000.

When first accused of accepting lavish gifts from wealthy patrons in April, Thomas defended himself, saying he had always "always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines."

The justice has said in a statement: "Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable." Newsweek has contacted the DOJ and the Supreme Court for comment by email.

The DOJ told Newsweek in a written statement: "We can confirm that we received a letter from several members but have no further comment, in keeping with our standard practice of neither confirming nor denying the existence of an investigation."

An investigation by The New York Times found that Thomas' signature recreational vehicle (RV), which he bought in Arizona in 1999 and was reportedly worth over $267,000, was purchased with the help of another wealthy friend, entrepreneur Anthony Welters. He said he had offered a loan to the justice but refused to disclose how much money he lent Thomas, and how much of the debt was eventually repaid.

Last week, ProPublica published a new report showing at least 38 vacations that Thomas enjoyed at the expense of wealthy benefactors and patrons who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence. The trips included a voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas, several private jet and helicopter flights, luxury stays, and a dozen VIP passes to professional college sporting events, among others.

In the wake of the outrage generated by the revelations made by the two news companies, House Democrats—including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday. The group called for the DOJ to launch an internal inquiry into Thomas's billionaire-funded trips.

The letter—signed by Ocasio-Cortez, Jerry Nadler of New York, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, and Ted Lieu of California—calls on the DOJ "to launch an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for consistently failing to report significant gifts he received from Harlan Crow and other billionaires for nearly two decades—in defiance of his duty under federal law."

Last week, Lieu called on Thomas to resign, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter: "Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court with his acceptance of massive, repeated and undisclosed gifts. No government official, elected or unelected, could ethically or legally accept gifts of that scale. He should resign immediately."

House Democrat Adam Schiff, who is running for Senate in California, wrote on X: "The scope of Justice Thomas' undisclosed receipt of luxury vacations from billionaires takes your breath away. As does this Court's arrogant disregard of the public. Every other federal court has an enforceable code of ethics — SCOTUS needs the same."

Update 8/15/23, 2:40 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a comment from the DOJ.