The Saga of Clarence Thomas and His Luxury RV Takes a Disturbing Turn

https://newrepublic.com/article/181627/clarence-thomas-rv-loan-democrats-letter

37 comments

  1. “We’re giving the justice the opportunity to clear this huge mess up,” Sen. Ron Wyden told TNR. “Nobody in this country is above the law. Not even Supreme Court justices.”

  2. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him retire if Trump wins the election so they can throw another right wing goofball on the court that would be there for a long time.

  3. I forgot about his RV. So many gifts from friends. I wish I made more friends, when I was in my late forties..never too late I guess.

    edit: I feel like there is a ‘weird al” style song that can come from this…maybe based off the [classic Mickey Avalon song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lobjgVo0c2Q) . just let Thomas flex and get the street cred.

    >My friends need no introduction.
    >Your friends don’t even function.
    >My friends served a whole lunch-in.
    >Your friends , it look like a munchkin’

    >My friends size of a pumpkin
    >Your friends look like Mackauley Culkin
    >My friends good good lovin’
    >Your friends good for nothin’

    >My friends bench pressed 350
    >Your friends couldn’t shoplift at Thrifty
    >My friends pretty damn skimpy
    >Your friends hungry as a hippie

  6. >“We’re giving the justice the opportunity to clear this huge mess up,” Wyden told me. “Nobody in this country is above the law. Not even Supreme Court justices.”

    He says talking about the people that create their own ethics rules that they don’t even have to abide by.

  8. When is any news about Clarence not disturbing? Not good peeps in any form that I’ve seen.

  10. It was already disturbing. He’s a corrupt hack actively working to dismantle laws and freedoms.

  11. >“It’s a hideous place,” Thomas said recently of the nation’s capital, in some of his most extensive remarks about his ethical lapses, noting that he’s been subject to “nastiness” and “lies.” Thomas added, *“It’s one of the reasons we like R.V.ing.”*.

    Mother fucker just rubbing it in everyone’s face.

  12. The “disturbing turn” could be that he is actually roaming the country, torturing animals or children as a serial killer, and conservatives will *still* support him.

  14. He did not have to declare it because he wasn’t driving it. He was *travelling* with it
    /s

  15. “Takes a Disturbing Turn” implies his ~~bribe~~ *forgiven loan* wasn’t disturbing already.

  16. Just from the headline, I’m going to guess he’s been serial killing the marginalized as he’s criss-crossed the nation in, what he calls “the Death Machine”?

  17. I wonder what would have happened if he took John Oliver up on his offer of a new RV and cash to retire now. I mean it is basically identical to what he did in 99. Get an RV, don’t pay for it (the cash) then do a favor for the person.

  19. He sure has a lot of billionaire friends for a guy who claims he hangs with us “regular folk”

  20. There’s a major typo in the headline, where it says “Disturbing” it should say “Obvious”.

  21. I watched John Oliver, it’s not an RV, it’s a Motor Coach. An RV is built on a truck frame and a Motor Coach is built on a bus frame and is significantly better.

  23. I wish the press would relentlessly hound them. As the public we have almost no way to stop these corrupt justices, but the press should be on their asses every time they leave the house. Put a little pressure on them.

    “Justice Thomas, have you taken any more vacations paid for by GOP donors that the public doesn’t know about?”.

    “Justice Thomas, does your wife plan to participate in another insurrection if Donald Trump loses in 2024?”.

    Maybe a GoFundMe for some paparazzi since the actual press seems incapable.

  24. The only way to reform our increasingly corrupt system is to elect a majority of democrats to the house and senate along with the presidency.

  25. In all the corporations that I’ve worked for they’ve typically had policies that limit the value of benefits that I can legitimately receive or spend for gifts and hospitality to/from government workers. They’ve usually been in the $200/$600 ranges respectively. There is no exceptions. Failures here are termination offences, because the optics are clear – it can/will be construed as a bribe.

    So, how does this judicial ethics game work again? $267K contribution towards judicial what?

  26. $267Kin 1999 is about $500K now…must be one hell of an RV

  28. You know that story recently about him complaining about people “telling lies” about him. Yeah that was probably because he knew this was about to come out.

  29. >Faced with a barrage of ethics scandals that have tarred the Supreme Court as riddled with corruption, Justice Clarence Thomas has sought to cast them as merely an outgrowth of politics in Washington, D.C. “It’s a hideous place,” Thomas said recently of the nation’s capital, in some of his most extensive remarks about his ethical lapses, noting that he’s been subject to “nastiness” and “lies.” Thomas added, “It’s one of the reasons we like R.V.ing.”

    >So it’s fitting that the latest sordid turn in these sagas involves none other than Thomas’s recreational vehicle, that symbol of his yearning to escape Washington to mingle with reg’lar folk who don’t subject each other to the viciousness he faces in the capital.

    >Thomas is still refusing to reveal whether he repaid the principal on the $267,000 loan that he received from Anthony Welters, a wealthy health care executive and personal friend, to purchase his R.V. in 1999, according to a letter that Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse have sent to an attorney for Thomas.
    …
    “Your client’s refusal to clarify how the loan was resolved raises serious concerns regarding violations of federal tax laws,” the senators write. Wyden chairs the Finance Committee, and Whitehouse chairs the Judiciary Committee’s panel on federal courts, both of which are spearheading an investigation of Supreme Court ethics scandals.

     

    For those who haven’t read it yet, ProPublica just won a Pulitzer Prize for their exposé into Supreme Court gifts:

    [ProPublica Wins Pulitzer Prize for Supreme Court Coverage](https://www.propublica.org/article/pulitzer-prize-announcement-propublica-supreme-court) ([MBFC LC/H/HC](https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/propublica/))

    >ProPublica won the prestigious public service Pulitzer Prize for what the judges described as “groundbreaking and ambitious reporting that pierced the thick wall of secrecy surrounding the Supreme Court to reveal how a small group of politically influential billionaires wooed justices with lavish gifts and travel, pushing the Court to adopt its first code of conduct.” The prize is given to the staff of a news organization that performed “meritorious public service.” It is the seventh Pulitzer Prize for ProPublica.

    Here is the link to the series, it’s a hell of a read:

    [Friends of the Court | SCOTUS Justices’ Beneficial Relationships With Billionaire Donors](https://www.propublica.org/series/supreme-court-scotus)

    * April 6, 2023 – [Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire](https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow)

    * April 13, 2023 – [Billionaire Harlan Crow Bought Property From Clarence Thomas. The Justice Didn’t Disclose the Deal.](https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus)

    * May 4, 2023 – [Clarence Thomas Had a Child in Private School. Harlan Crow Paid the Tuition.](https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-private-school-tuition-scotus)

    * June 20, 2023 – [Alito Took Unreported Luxury Trip With GOP Donor Paul Singer](https://www.propublica.org/article/samuel-alito-luxury-fishing-trip-paul-singer-scotus-supreme-court)

    Towards the bottom of the series (first link) you can find additional articles regarding the impact of the series.

     

    *Last Week Tonight* also put out a video on Supreme Court ethics:

    * [Supreme Court Ethics: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GE-VJrdHMug)

  30. Pretty crazy how there’s almost no oversight for these judges

  31. A $287,000 RV is a luxury purchase. I’d love to have one or a motor yacht, but spouse and I don’t have a rich friend to “loan” us the money.

  33. If the democrats take the house, he’s going to retire. Otherwise, he’s getting investigated and impeached for corruption.

  35. A disturbing turn down a steep embankment would be wonderful

  36. The only hope is to keep this story in the public eye. Keep hammering him in the media. Expose him completely. Assail him with constant scrutiny until the outrage gives them no choice but to get rid of him.

  37. Biggest Failure is Merrick Garland not indicting Thomas for bribery and obstruction of justice for his wife. Its not even a constitutional question so it will never get to the Supreme court.

Leave a Reply