Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire

[bamnutsak]

More "hospitality"?

 

Justice Thomas’s Wife Sets Up a Conservative Lobbying Shop

Feb. 4, 2011

WASHINGTON The wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, who has raised her political profile in the last year through her outspoken conservative activism, is rebranding herself as a lobbyist and self-appointed “ambassador to the Tea Party movement.”

 

An anonymous $500,000 donation to start up Liberty Central came from Harlan Crow, a Dallas real estate investor and Republican financier, Politico reported.

 

Mr. Crow, reached by phone Friday, would not say whether he was the source of the money. “I disclose what I’m required by law to disclose,” he said, “and I don’t disclose what I’m not required to disclose.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/us/politics/05thomas.html

 

 

 

Inside the consulting firm run by Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

 

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, runs a little-known consulting company.

Some campaign watchdog groups say it could create yet another conflict of interest for her husband.

“It’s very problematic,” Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, told CNBC in a recent phone interview in response to Thomas’ private consulting work.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/05/inside-the-consulting-firm-run-by-ginni-thomas-wife-of-supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas.html

 

 

[heybruce]

8 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

More "hospitality"?

 

Justice Thomas’s Wife Sets Up a Conservative Lobbying Shop

Feb. 4, 2011

WASHINGTON The wife of Justice Clarence Thomas, who has raised her political profile in the last year through her outspoken conservative activism, is rebranding herself as a lobbyist and self-appointed “ambassador to the Tea Party movement.”

 

An anonymous $500,000 donation to start up Liberty Central came from Harlan Crow, a Dallas real estate investor and Republican financier, Politico reported.

 

Mr. Crow, reached by phone Friday, would not say whether he was the source of the money. “I disclose what I’m required by law to disclose,” he said, “and I don’t disclose what I’m not required to disclose.”

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/05/us/politics/05thomas.html

 

 

 

Inside the consulting firm run by Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

 

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, runs a little-known consulting company.

Some campaign watchdog groups say it could create yet another conflict of interest for her husband.

“It’s very problematic,” Richard Painter, chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, told CNBC in a recent phone interview in response to Thomas’ private consulting work.

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/05/inside-the-consulting-firm-run-by-ginni-thomas-wife-of-supreme-court-justice-clarence-thomas.html

 

 

Unbelievable! 

 

In most of government you can be reassigned and disciplined for just the appearance of a conflict of interest.  You can and probably will be charged and prosecuted for actual conflicts.  How can a Supreme Court Justice get away with this?

[bamnutsak]

The biggest issue with Justice Thomas', and his wife's, behavior is that the Framers assumed that SC Justices would be honest, noble and faithful to their oath. So they had no checks/balances (save the unlikely impeachment) on Supreme Court Justices.

 

And now, of course, there is very little faith in the objectivity of SCOTUS.

 

If Chief Justice Roberts had an ounce of integrity he would resign - this corruption, and the politicization of the court happened on his watch, and the same goes for Clarence Thomas.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2023 by bamnutsak

[GroveHillWanderer]

I'm still surprised that more isn't being made in the media about the revelations in the article linked to by @ozimoronearlier.

 

The fact that Crow served on the boards of not one, but two groups (AEI and CCI) that filed briefs in the US Supreme Court is surely a clear conflict of interest.

[pomchop]

Clarence needs a math lesson - “close friends for more than 25 years” when you’ve been on the Court for 31+ years just underscores the reek of impropriety. Nobody trusts you Clarence, or your seditious wife.

 

Sure Clarence would be a close friend and invited to fly on private jets, cruise on luxury yachts with private chefs, stay in private fishing resorts if he were just another black man...in fact there would probably be several other blacks at the resort, yachts, jets but they would likely be there to clean the toilets and serve the drinks.  Does anyone anywhere actually believe that if Thomas were not a supreme justice that a rich right wing texas billionaire would give him or his wife the time of day?

 

Clarence claims that he asked several jurists early in his career and was told he didn't need to report his luxurious gifts...ok Clarence under oath tell us who exactly told you that as we would like for them to verify under oath that any jurist anywhere would be that dumb to tell you to take hundreds of thousands in gifts and not to report.  As a judge you need to be smart enough to know that accepting such gifts is  just as bad as taking envelopes full of cash.  Avoid even the appearance of impropriety.  Legal or not anyone who is that stupid has no place being a Judge much less a supreme court judge.

 

Maybe the republican house McCarthy and his cohorts would like to join the dems in the senate who are demanding ole long dong silver RESIGN and that Roberts also be taken to task for being unaware or unconcerned with such behavior. 

 

As for his wife and Clarence refusal to recuse himself from cases that it was public knowledge she was involved and was being paid 120 k a year by republican donors.....is it possible that ANYONE with even an elementary  knowledge of the law and proper behavior would think that was just fine and Clarence would not be influenced?   

 

Every member of the house and senate as well as all the Federal  judges nationwide should call for Thomas to resign today.

[onthedarkside]

Off topic deflection post removed.

[herfiehandbag]

On 4/7/2023 at 12:45 PM, bamnutsak said:

I'm sure Chief Justice Roberts will conduct a full inquiry, as he did with the Dobb's leak, of Justice Thomas' dealings.

 

 

That fireplace makes them look like the cast of "The Borrowers"!

[bamnutsak]

1 hour ago, herfiehandbag said:

That fireplace makes them look like the cast of "The Borrowers"!

Yeah, I was taken back by the size of the fireplace. In Texas no less, where he probably has to crank the air after he lights the fireplace?

 

But I was reminded of the fireplace in Charles Foster Kane's Xanadu.

 

 

[onthedarkside]

UPDATE: Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.

 

The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice. The Crow company bought the properties for $133,363 from three co-owners — Thomas, his mother and the family of Thomas’ late brother, according to a state tax document and a deed dated Oct. 15, 2014, filed at the Chatham County courthouse.

 

A federal disclosure law passed after Watergate requires justices and other officials to disclose the details of most real estate sales over $1,000. Thomas never disclosed his sale of the Savannah properties. That appears to be a violation of the law, four ethics law experts told ProPublica.

 

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus

 

[placeholder]

9 minutes ago, onthedarkside said:

UPDATE: Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.

 

The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice. The Crow company bought the properties for $133,363 from three co-owners — Thomas, his mother and the family of Thomas’ late brother, according to a state tax document and a deed dated Oct. 15, 2014, filed at the Chatham County courthouse.

 

A federal disclosure law passed after Watergate requires justices and other officials to disclose the details of most real estate sales over $1,000. Thomas never disclosed his sale of the Savannah properties. That appears to be a violation of the law, four ethics law experts told ProPublica.

 

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus

 

Also, Thomas' mother was still living there after the purchase. Crow made lots of improvements to the property. Was he being paid rent?

Edited April 14, 2023 by placeholder

[Bkk Brian]

4 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Also, Thomas mother was still living there after the purchase. Crow made lots of improvements to the property. Was he being paid rent?

On the back of that.................

 

Clarence Thomas’ Mom Definitely Still Lives in the House the Billionaire Bought

The reporters noted that they were certain Thomas’ mother lived in this house through 2020, per public records and social media, and that her neighbors said she still lives there.

But Slate can confirm that she resides in the house to this day. Two weeks ago, Joel Anderson interviewed her there for the upcoming season of Slow Burn.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/04/clarence-thomas-mom-billionaire-house.html

[placeholder]

And there's this:

 "Crow did not respond to questions about whether he has charged her rent."

https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus

 

I'm guessing we can take that as a "no".

I wonder what similar properties in that neighborhood rent for. I bet it comes to a lot more than the $15000 Thomas received from Crow for the sale of the property.

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by placeholder

[pomchop]

11 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Also, Thomas mother was still living there after the purchase. Crow made lots of improvements to the property. Was he being paid rent?

Amazing silence from the house and senate and other federal judges nationwide....how sad that in their silence they tacitly send the message that Thomas atrocious lack of any moral awareness is ok with them.

 

Any first year law student would know that acceptable norms for all judges is to avoid even the suggestion/appearance  of conflict of interest.  This behavior over a 20 ++ year span is beyond belief and needs to be stopped with a resignation or impeachment now.

Edited April 14, 2023 by pomchop

[placeholder]

1 minute ago, pomchop said:

Amazing silence from the house and senate and other federal judges nationwide....how sad that in their silence they tacitly send the message that Thomas atrocious lack of any moral awareness is ok with them.

 

Any first year law student would know that acceptable norms for all judges is to avoid even the suggestion/appearance  of conflict of interest.  This behavior over a 20 ++ year span is beyond belief and needs to be stopped with a resignation or impeachment now.

I think you're being a little unfair.

How can a justice of the Supreme Court be reasonably expected to comply with the law?

[placeholder]

I ran my Fox News test on whether this is good news or bad news for the right. It's not on the home page. Bad News!

[Bkk Brian]

This was the day before these latest revelations......

 

CLC Seeks Referral of Justice Thomas to DOJ for Violations

Washington, D.C. – This week, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) submitted a letter to the committee of federal judges with authority to refer Justice Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Attorney General for potential criminal and civil penalties related to violating the Ethics in Government Act. 

https://campaignlegal.org/press-releases/clc-seeks-referral-justice-thomas-doj-violations

[bamnutsak]

Nixon was able to force Abe Fortas to resign for far less...

 

 

Abe Fortas resigns from Supreme Court, May 15, 1969

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/14/abe-fortas-resigns-from-supreme-court-may-15-1969-238228

 

 

And the "billionaire", Mr. Crow, seems to have a penchant for Nazi  collectibles, including a copy of Mein Kampf signed by Hitler. I did not see that one coming.

 

 

Clarence Thomas’s Billionaire Benefactor Collects Hitler Artifacts

 

https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/04/07/clarence-thomass-billionaire-benefactor-collects-hitler-artifacts/

 

[Hanaguma]

39 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

Nixon was able to force Abe Fortas to resign for far less...

 

 

Abe Fortas resigns from Supreme Court, May 15, 1969

 

https://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/14/abe-fortas-resigns-from-supreme-court-may-15-1969-238228

 

 

And the "billionaire", Mr. Crow, seems to have a penchant for Nazi  collectibles, including a copy of Mein Kampf signed by Hitler. I did not see that one coming.

 

 

Clarence Thomas’s Billionaire Benefactor Collects Hitler Artifacts

 

https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/04/07/clarence-thomass-billionaire-benefactor-collects-hitler-artifacts/

 

And so what.   A rich guy has a collection of historical artifacts. He has a collection of thousands of books and manuscripts, one of which is Nazi. Again, so what?  This does not signify approval or allegiance. He's a collector. 

 

I guess this means that Civil War battle re-enactors who take the part of Confederate troops are also racist bigots. Or anyone whose collection happens to have a picture of Mao or Castro is a communist. 

 

This is a very low smear.

[heybruce]

Maybe, just maybe, these clear violations of ethics are enough for Republicans to vote for impeachment.  But probably not.

[stevenl]

3 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Maybe, just maybe, these clear violations of ethics are enough for Republicans to vote for impeachment.  But probably not.

Of course not. 

[pomchop]

56 minutes ago, placeholder said:

I think you're being a little unfair.

How can a justice of the Supreme Court be reasonably expected to comply with the law?

truly sad isn't it...i remember watching his confirmation hearings long ago and I had no doubt that he should never ever have been confirmed....now we have clarence and a couple recently confirmed that flat out lied re their position on roe v wade to get confirmed...it's all on tape.  Lifetime appointments obviously enbolden them to thumb their nose at the entire judiciary system and the American public...must feel not so great to be a low level guy sitting in prison for taking bribes and get to see the top judges do worse with zero problems.

[pomchop]

17 minutes ago, heybruce said:

Maybe, just maybe, these clear violations of ethics are enough for Republicans to vote for impeachment.  But probably not.

Just imagine if it were a liberal judge....fox news and maga heads would go 24/7 screaming for immediate impeachment and their heads would explode.  Of course they would allow charles manson to stay on as if he is gone then the dems would get to pick the next one....unless of course repubs block that as they did before.......amazing bunch of hypocrites law and order my rear end.

[bamnutsak]

My sense is that ProPublica has much, much, much more information, and that it will be a drip - drip - drip until CJ Roberts chimes in, or Thomas is forced to resign. In the mean time Thomas should recuse himself from any/all/every case until his criminality has been fuuly adjudicated.

 

 

In related news, Harlan Crow's brother, Trammell Crow Jr. has his own "legal" problems.

 

Trammell Crow Jr. Named in Human Trafficking Case

 

In federal court documents filed in California, Dallas real estate heir and investor Trammell Crow Jr. is accused by two women of financially supporting and participating in an alleged human-trafficking ring that victimized them over the course of 12 years.

 

It is important to recognize that, while accusations can be made, nothing is proven until the legal process has concluded. Wealthy individuals and celebrities are often targeted by lawsuits to garner publicity. Whether Crow was involved or not has yet to be established.

 

https://dallasexpress.com/national/trammell-crow-jr-named-in-human-trafficking-case/#:~:text=Named in Human Trafficking Case,-National&text=In federal court documents filed,the course of 12 years.

[bendejo]

He's a Republican, his love of god and country will see him though. 

Anticipating a founding fathers reference from him.

 

 

[GroveHillWanderer]

1 hour ago, Hanaguma said:

And so what.   A rich guy has a collection of historical artifacts. He has a collection of thousands of books and manuscripts, one of which is Nazi. Again, so what?  This does not signify approval or allegiance. He's a collector. 

 

I guess this means that Civil War battle re-enactors who take the part of Confederate troops are also racist bigots. Or anyone whose collection happens to have a picture of Mao or Castro is a communist. 

 

This is a very low smear.

You seem to have misunderstood the point being made.

 

That point was contained in the first link, and was that Justice Fortas was forced to resign by revelations that he had taken "a secret retainer from the family foundation of [a] Wall Street financier. "

 

The part about Crow having a collection of Nazi memorabilia was a separate aside, not directly related to the main point raised in the post.

[Hanaguma]

Just now, GroveHillWanderer said:

You seem to have misunderstood the point being made.

 

That point was contained in the first link, and was that Justice Fortas was forced to resign by revelations that he had taken "a secret retainer from the family foundation of [a] Wall Street financier. "

 

The part about Crow having a collection of Nazi memorabilia was a separate aside, not directly related to the main point raised in the post.

Fair enough, the legalities and ethics rules seem a bit convoluted and I dont want to risk looking even more foolish than usual by commenting on them. But the snide jabs inferring that Crow is some kind of secret Nazi because he is interested in history are irritating. 

[placeholder]

12 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

Fair enough, the legalities and ethics rules seem a bit convoluted and I dont want to risk looking even more foolish than usual by commenting on them. But the snide jabs inferring that Crow is some kind of secret Nazi because he is interested in history are irritating. 

Nothing convoluted about Thomas not disclosing the $15,000 he received for selling the property. He apparently violated the law. 

And there's still the question of whether his mother had to pay rent which would be especially interesting if it turned out Thomas was helping to support her before the sale.

Edited April 14, 2023 by placeholder

[Hanaguma]

3 minutes ago, placeholder said:

Nothing convoluted about Thomas not disclosing the $15,000 he received for selling the property. He apparently violated the law. 

And there's still the question of whether his mother had to pay rent which would be especially interesting if it turned out Thomas was helping to support her before the sale.

If the allegations are true and he has violated ethics laws I have no problem with him being forced off the Bench. Let the process take place and the consequences that follow.

[bamnutsak]

16 minutes ago, Hanaguma said:

But the snide jabs inferring that Crow is some kind of secret Nazi

It wasn't a "snide jab", it was a statement of fact. And I did not say or "infer" Crow was a secret Nazi.

 

Your defense of Crow the collector is admirable, and no, that doesn't infer that you are a secret Nazi.

 

 

 

 

[Bkk Brian]

I also don't believe he's a secret nazi but,  if I was a billionaire like him I doubt very much that I would have a collection of paintings by Adolf Hitler, a signed copy of Mein Kampf, and a set of swastika-emblazoned napkins.