Ex-judge: Clarence Thomas RV loan another example of justice 'doing an end run' around ethics rules

26 October 2023

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is once again in the news over allegations of corruption — this time concerning a gift from wealthy businessman Anthony Welters. In 1999, Welters loaned Thomas a recreational vehicle worth approximately $267,000 at 7.5% interest before forgiving the debt in 2008. Now, a retired federal judge is pointing to that as yet another example of Thomas flouting a rule that's been in place for more than 30 years.

In a Thursday article for WBUR, Nancy Gertner — who served as a US District Judge for the District of Massachusetts between 1994 and 2011 — wrote that federal judges have all been prohibited from accepting any gifts or honoraria (compensation for speeches and public appearances) since the Ethics Reform Act of 1989. The law was challenged in 2000, when some members of Congress supported a failed effort to attach a rider to a spending bill that would have allowed judges to receive honoraria.

Then-Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin), an anti-corruption crusader who famously authored a bipartisan landmark campaign finance reform bill, challenged the idea of judges accepting "$1,000, $5,000, or $10,000 speaking fees from corporations and other wealthy interests that may have cases pending in the federal court," and the effort was eventually defeated.

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However, Gernter pointed out that Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, which has multiple alumni on both the Supreme Court and throughout the federal judiciary, wanted to work out a way to keep conservative judges like Clarence Thomas "happy" in their positions, rather than risk them leave the public sector for more lucrative private sector jobs.

"Leo’s efforts to keep Thomas happy meant 38 destination vacations, a voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas, 26 private jet flights (plus eight by helicopter), a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events (typically sitting in a box), two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica, and a standing invitation to an exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast," Gertner wrote. "Most of these were arranged by Leo and paid for by conservative billionaires."

"While recent debates center on enacting an ethics code for the Supreme Court, the statutory honoraria ban has been in place for decades," Gernter continued. "No new ethical rules need to be promulgated, or codes enacted on this subject. It exists right now, as it has since 1989. But Thomas and Leo are doing an end run around it, accomplishing indirectly what the law prohibits them from doing directly. And no one is stopping them."

A report from the US Senate Committee on Finance called on Thomas to "inform the committee exactly how much debt was forgiven and whether he properly reported the loan forgiveness on his tax returns and paid all taxes owed." As of this writing, Thomas has yet to provide a full accounting of the loan to the committee.

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