Wyden: Harlan Crow in for ‘cold dose of reality’ in probe of gifts to Thomas

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday that GOP megadonor Harlan Crow is in for “a cold dose of reality” after refusing to comply with the panel’s requests for information about his gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

“Unsurprisingly, Harlan Crow has refused to respond to my questions about his lavish gifts to Clarence Thomas,” Wyden tweeted. “Mr. Crow is relying on the same baseless arguments that failed Donald Trump in his attempt to stonewall Congressional oversight.”

The Senate Finance Committee had asked Crow for a list of gifts he has given to Thomas over the last two decades, in the wake of ProPublica’s recent reporting on Crow’s close relationship with the Supreme Court justice.

Crow has reportedly footed the bill for several luxury trips with Thomas and paid the private boarding school tuition of Thomas’s great-nephew.

Crow’s attorneys argued in a Monday letter to Wyden that the panel lacked authority on the issue, suggesting that it was instead part of an effort to target the Supreme Court justice.

“Given the Letter’s timing and focus, this inquiry appears to be a component of a broader campaign against Justice Thomas and, now, Mr. Crow, rather than an investigation that furthers a valid legislative purpose,” the letter said.

However, Wyden called the suggestion that the panel lacked a valid legislative purpose “preposterous.”

“Mr. Crow is in for a cold dose of reality if he really believes his gifts to Justice Thomas are immune from congressional investigation,” the senator said. 

“No amount of wealth or connections can help him get away with blowing off Finance Committee oversight,” he added. “I will be discussing with my committee colleagues how best to get answers to my questions, and all options will be on the table.”