Earlier this year, an investigation by an independent organization revealed Judge Clarence Thomas as acting outside the confines of ethics.
It turns out Judge Clarence enjoyed a major loan waiver some years back but did not declare it in his tax return. This was the first domino piece to precede the avalanche.
The Senate set up a Finance Committee to review the judge’s tax records right after the loan forgiveness issue. The committee’s findings about Judge Thomas were most surprising. The investigation then unveiled several other unethical financial dealings by the same judge.
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The revelations make Judge Clarence’s compliance with tax and ethics regulations questionable. Senator Ron Wyden, chair of the probe committee, worked with other committee members to reveal the details of all Judge Thomas’ questionable dealings.
First, records show that Justice Thomas bought an expensive RV over 20 years ago. The loan at the time amounted to $267,230. However, Justice Thomas did not settle the loan, as his wealthy friend took care of it. The bone of contention is that the loan does not appear on any of Justice Thomas’s ethics forms.
Usually, Supreme Court justices often submit an annual report indicating all their financial dealings. It is a measure of accountability that prevents abuse of those sensitive offices. However, the ethics code that binds Supreme Court justices differs from those of lower court judges.
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During the investigation of the RV purchase, the senate committee discovered the loan was obtained from Anthony Welters in 1999. The only evidence of that transaction is a 1999 promissory note signed by Justice Thomas.
Unfortunately, only a single trail of the loan exists in Justice Thomas’s tax returns. He did pay the loan interest, amounting to $20,043.23. However, the judge at no time declared in his records that the loan had been forgiven. The rule is that the IRS must receive the tax on a loan even if someone has forgiven it.
It doesn’t end there. In April, ProPublica released that Justice Thomas has been enjoying various gifts, with no disclosure, over the years. Some of the gifts came in the form of full-funded trips and vacations. Interestingly, most of the donors involved have GOP affiliations.
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In response to the revelations, Justice Thomas said he didn’t think disclosing such gifts was necessary. According to him, the disclosure rules of the time did not require him to make such declarations.
True to his words, recent financial reports of Justice Thomas disclosed 2022 trips sponsored by billionaire Harlan Crow. The disclosure rules for Supreme Court justices were updated this year.
Now, the question is: how can taxpayers be sure that the undisclosed gifts have not influenced the rulings of Supreme Court justices over the years?
Nonetheless, some insist on Justice Thomas’s resignation, citing his lack of integrity. However, the investigation is still ongoing, and no one can predict the outcome of these financial undressings.
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