Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s latest financial disclosure form publicized Friday includes an amendment to a filing made half a decade ago to include two trips paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow.
The financial forms of all but one Supreme Court justice were revealed Friday as part of a filing deadline. Justice Samuel Alito requested a 90-day extension.
Thomas’s disclosure indicated that the two 2019 trips were “inadvertently omitted” from the paperwork’s “reimbursement” section when the filings for that year were submitted. After receiving guidance from his “accountant and ethics counsel,” Thomas reported the trips.
The first trip, reimbursed by Crow and his wife, Cathy, occurred July 12, 2019, in Bali, Indonesia. Thomas indicated that he was a guest of the couple and was reimbursed for food and lodging at a hotel.
ProPublica first reported the trip to Indonesia, writing that Thomas and his wife, Ginni, vacationed with the Crows for “nine days of island-hopping in a volcanic archipelago on a superyacht staffed by a coterie of attendants and a private chef.” The cost of the trip would have exceeded $500,000 for the Thomases, according to ProPublica, but the bill was covered by Crow.
Days later, from July 18-21, 2019, Thomas was a guest of Crow in Monte Rio, Calif., where food and lodging at a private club were provided. The trip is likely a reference to Bohemian Grove, an exclusive all-male retreat in California, which Thomas and Crow have both reportedly attended.
Last year, Thomas reported trips paid for by Crow for the first time after the trips spilled out into public view. The development also followed new guidance increasing requirements for when the justices must report trips.
Though the justices have long filed the annual paperwork, recent years’ disclosures have come under greater scrutiny as the justices face increasing criticism for their ethical standards.