A new ProPublica report about Clarence Thomas' financial relationship with real estate magnate Harlan Crow may be more troublesome for the justice than the first one. The new one reveals that Thomas failed to disclose a 2014 real estate deal in which Crow bought the home of Thomas' elderly mother in Savannah, Georgia, as well as two adjoining lots owned by Thomas for about $133,000. Crow then made about $36,000 worth of renovations to the home of Thomas' mother, Leola Williams. Justices are required by federal law to report real estate sales over $1,000, and Thomas' failure to do so appears to be a direct violation of that law, four experts tell ProPublica.
"The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice," per the story. The New York Times makes a similar point in writing about the investigation. Thomas has not responded yet to the report, while Crow issued a statement saying he bought the home with the intent of preserving it for posterity and turning it into a museum. The justice's failure to report the sale suggests he "was hiding a financial relationship with Crow,” says Kathleen Clark, a legal ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis. Crow is a big donor to conservative causes.
Both Thomas and Crow downplayed the significance of ProPublica's first report, in which the outlet detailed how Crow has for years financed luxury vacations for Thomas and wife Ginny Thomas, who is known for her conservative activism. In the latest report, the disclosure obligations are more clear cut, writes columnist Ruth Marcus at the Washington Post. "There is no doubt that the sale of personal real estate to Crow should have been reported on the justice’s financial disclosure form for 2014, and there is no excuse for failing to do so." Thomas' mother, now 94, still lives in the home today, according to Slate. (More Clarence Thomas stories.)
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