HomeCrimeClarence Thomas ethics questions over $267K loan forgiveness

Clarence Thomas ethics questions over $267K loan forgiveness

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at the Heritage Foundation on October 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.)

Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at the Heritage Foundation on October 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is facing new allegations of ethics violations after an official report showed that he never reported that a wealthy friend loaned him $267,000 for the purchase of a luxury RV, then forgave the loan — perhaps in its entirety.

In the latest chapter of what some have called the Court’s “self-inflicted ethics crisis,” the Senate Judiciary Committee posted on X, previously known as Twitter, on Thursday that a “[n]ew report finds that Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose $250,000+ of loan forgiveness for an RV, lent to him by a wealthy health care industry benefactor.”

After an investigation, the committee found that health care mogul Anthony Welters loaned Thomas funds for the deal, and that Thomas appears neither to have repaid the loan principal nor to have reported the corresponding loan forgiveness. Thomas has already come under fire for undisclosed luxury trips aboard the “superyacht” of billionaire GOP supporter Harlan Crow.

From superyachts to Walmart parking lots

Questions about Thomas’ land-based vacations emerged after a New York Times story ran in August 2022 about the justice’s purchase of a Prevost Le Mirage LX Marathon motor coach in 1999. Thomas was quoted discussing how the RV he “scrimped and saved to afford” allowed him to escape the “meanness that you see in Washington” and spend time with family touring what some consider the “flyover states.” Thomas still owns the RV today and has often commented that he loves using it to spend time with ordinary people in Walmart parking lots.

“There’s something normal to me about it,” the justice said about the vehicle in a 2020 documentary.

Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore., however, had a far less folksy take on Thomas’ road trips. In a statement Wednesday, Wyden said, “Regular Americans don’t get wealthy friends to forgive huge amounts of debt so they can buy a second home,” and demanded that Thomas inform the committee about the precise details of the loan forgiveness and his reporting history.

A Senate Finance Committee report Wednesday titled “Clarence Thomas did not repay entire principal on $267,230 loan from Tony Welters” filled in some of the missing information. The committee said it reviewed documents that suggested that Thomas did not repay “a significant portion of the loan principal,” and that no documents showed that the justice ever made any payments of the loan principal.

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