These Clarence Thomas 'patrons' underscore the need for a Supreme Court 'code of ethics': analysis

A Gallup poll released in September found that approval of the U.S. Supreme Court was only 41 percent. From overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 to extensive reporting on Justice Clarence Thomas' cozy relationship with billionaire Harlan Crow, the High Court's image, critics say, has suffered considerably in recent years.

In a biting report published on November 9, the Washington Post's Shawn Boburg lists some top "patrons" of Thomas and his wife: far-right GOP activist Ginni Thomas, a conspiracy theorist and staunch Donald Trump loyalist who falsely claimed that the election was stolen from him.

"Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, have long been surrounded by a tight network of friends and patrons, most of them staunch conservatives," Boburg explains. "Over the past six months, reporting primarily by ProPublica, but also by The Washington Post, the New York Times and other outlets, has revealed the extent to which that network has provided the Thomases with gifts, favors and employment — many of which the justice never publicly disclosed."

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Boburg adds, "The revelations about the Thomases' interactions with billionaires have fueled calls for the Supreme Court justices to be bound by a code of ethics."

The Clarence Thomas/Ginni Thomas "patrons" Boburg lists include Crow, the Federalist Society's Leonard Leo, the Heritage Foundation (a right-wing think tank) and Michigan's Hillsdale College (which the reporter describes as a "conservative Christian school" with "close ties to Republicans, including former president Donald Trump"), and The Daily Caller (a right-wing website co-founded by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson).

Boburg also lists the Center for Security Policy, describing it as "a far-right think tank that has sought to spread the belief that Islamists are infiltrating the U.S. government."

"In 2021," Boburg notes, "Heritage hosted a day-long symposium on the legacy of Clarence Thomas' 30 years as a justice. Heritage paid Ginni Thomas more than $936,000 between 2001 and 2007, tax filings show. Tax filings before 2001 are not available. Clarence Thomas reported her employment at Heritage in 2011, after left-leaning activists raised questions."

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Read Shawn Boburg's full Washington Post report at this link (subscription required).