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More Clarence Thomas 'gifts' from billionaires uncovered

NxNW

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If the GOP is actually oncerned about bribery, they seem to be ignoring obvious examples right in front of them:

Dems revive calls for Clarence Thomas resignation after new report

Democratic lawmakers revived their calls for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign from his position Thursday after a new ProPublica report revealed he had taken more unreported luxury vacations funded by billionaires than was previously known.

“Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court with his acceptance of massive, repeated and undisclosed gifts,” Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) said on X, formerly known as Twitter. “No government official, elected or unelected, could ethically or legally accept gifts of that scale. He should resign immediately.”

As the high court continues to see record-low public approval and a Democratic-led effort to impose ethics reforms, ProPublica reported Thursday that wealthy benefactors have gifted Thomas at least 38 destination vacations, 26 private jet flights, multiple VIP passes to sporting events and two resort stays during his time on the court — a higher number of billionaire benefactors than was previously reported. Ethics experts, ProPublica reported, said the failure to disclose travel and sports could amount to a legal violation.
 

Pommer

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essentialsaltes

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Two more billionaires (and their friends and donors) have hit the Justice.

Justice Clarence Thomas reportedly attended Koch network donor events


Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas flew on a private jet in 2018 to speak at the annual winter donor summit of the Koch network — a trip that was intended to be a fundraising draw for the influential conservative political organization with interests before the court, according to a report published Friday by ProPublica.

According to the outlet, it was at least the second time Thomas had attended a meeting of the network founded by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch and his brother, David Koch, who died in 2019. Thomas did not disclose the 2018 trip, ProPublica reported.

The latest ProPublica report focused on Thomas’s interactions with the Koch network, which has given millions of dollars to a conservative legal organization behind one of the Supreme Court’s biggest cases of the term that begins in October. The group, Cause of Action Institute, is asking the justices to overturn a decades-old precedent long targeted by conservatives concerned about the power of federal government agencies.


So, unlike the luxury 'vacations' with billionaires and their other guests, this was literally a fund-raising event for conservative causes, and the network has funded causes with business currently before the Court.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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So, unlike the luxury 'vacations' with billionaires and their other guests, this was literally a fund-raising event for conservative causes, and the network has funded causes with business currently before the Court.
And, more importantly, you can tie a shift in Thomas's jurisprudence to his association with the Kochs. When he started on the Court, he was a strong supporter of Chevron deference (the idea that we should defer to a government agency's reasonable interpretation of an ambiguous federal law, derived from Chevron U.S.A v. Natural Resources Council (1984)). Since working with the Koch brothers and speaking at these events, Thomas has renounced Chevron deference, and there is currently a case before the Court (funded in part by the Koch network) that would overturn Chevron if the Court rules for the plaintiffs.

 
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