Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is calling out Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for being hypocritical in his statement where he defended himself about the many lavish gifts he received from a GOP megadonor.
Speaking with Dana Bash for State of the Union on CNN, Ms Ocasio-Cortez said Justice Thomas’ statement “contradicts many of the facts on the ground” and raises “even more serious questions.”
Justice Thomas released a statement in response to a recent ProPublica investigation that found Republican megadonor Harlan Crow had gifted the SCOTUS member luxurious trips for more than two decades.
“Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable,” Justice Thomas said in his statement.
For her part, Ms Ocasio-Cortez found Justice Thomas’ statement troubling, pointing out one detail that she believes makes the situation more problematic.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez said his statement “stated that the reason and the rationale for this exemption was personal hospitality from an old friend and he said himself, in his statement, ‘a friend of 25 years’ Justice Thomas has been on the Court for 30 years.”
Justice Thomas was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1991 by former President George W Bush.
“What he is admitting in his statement in an attempt to defend himself, is that he began this relationship with a billionaire and received these sorts of gifts after he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States -- I think that in and of itself indicates a very, very serious problem,” Ms Ocasio-Cortez added.
The investigation from ProPublica revealed that Justice Thomas had accepted trips from Mr Crow aboard his superyacht, and taking Mr Crow’s private jet to places like Indonesia and New Zealand. He also joined Mr Crow on an annual trip to his Adirondacks resort.
Notably, Mr Crow is an influential GOP donor who has supported right-wing candidates and organisations.
Despite the luxurious vacations costing tens of thousands of dollars each, none of them appeared on Justice Thomas’ annual financial disclosures.
According to the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, justices must file annual financial disclosures of their income and their spouse’s income. Though, travel is considered “personal hospitality” which is not clearly defined.
In a statement from Mr Crow, he did not deny his “hospitality” to Justice Thomas and Mr Thomas’ wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas but said their time together was “no different from the hospitality we have extended to our many other dear friends.”
Last week, Ms Ocasio-Cortez called the revelations a “cartoonish” degree of “corruption” and called for Justice Thomas to be impeached.
Other lawmakers, like Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), called for an independent investigation of the Supreme Court.
Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) told MSNBC that the Senate Judiciary Committee is “going to have hearings” adding that Chairman Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts asking for an investigation.
Ms Ocasio-Cortez echoed Ms Hirono’s concerns, saying Chief Justice Roberts “must now come forward and state if he allows, or is allowing this kind of very serious corruption to happen on this Court.”
