After records revealed that the Supreme Court Justice Harlan Crow flew between Hawaii and New Zealand without disclosing it, Senator Ron Wyden wrote to Crow’s attorney.
Justice Clarence Thomas did not publicly disclose the additional private travel paid for by wealthy conservative donor Harlan Crow. This was revealed in a Monday letter from a top Democratic Senator.
Customs and Border Protection documents revealed that Virginia Thomas and the justice took a round-trip between Hawaii and New Zealand on Mr. Crow’s private jet in November 2010. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon demanded in a letter to Mr. Crow’s lawyer that he provide more information regarding the financial relationship between them.
The letter is part of an investigation that Mr. Wyden has launched into Mr. Crow, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. This comes at a time when top Democrats are calling for major changes in the Supreme Court including an enforced code of conduct.
Mr. Wyden stated that the revelations only heightened his concerns about the relationship of the justice with Mr. Crow, an estate magnate. “I’m deeply concerned that Mr. Crow could have given extravagant gifts to a public official, and then written off these gifts in order to reduce his tax bill,” wrote Mr. Wyden.
Justice Thomas didn’t immediately respond to Monday’s request for comment.
Michael Zona said, a spokesman for Mr. Crow’s lawyers, that they had “already dealt with Senator Wyden’s inquiries which have no legal base and are only meant to harass a citizen.” They accused Mr. Wyden a political motivated attempt to undermine the Supreme Court.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/05/us/politics/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-jet.html