By Elliott Brack, republished with permission | Improper is what it is. He is guilty of impropriety.
We’re talking about, of all occupations, a U.S. Supreme Court justice.
For any judge to do something unethical and improper is almost unthinkable.
And on top of that, he’s originally from our own state of Georgia.
How embarrassing, apparently for us, but apparently not for him. That makes it even worse.
Yes, we’re thinking of Clarence Thomas, the current longest-serving justice ever. Had he not remained on the bench all these years, we may never have realized just how far out of bounds he has become in accepting not small, but large gifts, from the friends. He has hung to his well-placed friend closely for years.
Now at least we can understand why. He’s being rewarded.
The Thomas personal indiscretions are of his own doing. We have previously learned that his longtime wife has problems with questionable activities, and possibly, has carved herself a seat of power in perhaps influencing his court decisions.
But his indiscretions are not just something that have come to light only recently. It was as far back as 2004 when the Los Angeles Times disclosed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted expensive gifts and private plane trips paid for by Harlan Crow, a wealthy Texas real estate investor and a prominent Republican donor.
More revelations have come lately. Their scale is astounding. One trip that Crow bestowed on the justice and his wife was to Indonesia in 2019 for “nine days of island-hopping” on a 162-foot superyacht. One report placed the value of such a trip at over a half million dollars! Can you imagine?
No telling how much “hospitality” Ginni and Clarence Thomas have accepted from Crow. You must wonder who else is “treating” the justice and his wife.
That’s a far cry from where the justice was born in Pin Point, Ga., near Savannah, in 1948. His father abandoned his family, and Clarence was raised by his maternal grandparents in a poor Gullah community. Growing up Catholic, Thomas originally intended to be a priest. He graduated from the College of Holy Cross in 1971 and got his law degree from Yale University.
Journalists say that it remains unclear whether Thomas has violated any law or regulation by accepting such gifts and not disclosing them. But one thing is for sure: the conduct by the justice sure does give rise to the use of the word “impropriety” in these circumstances.
You also wonder what the other eight members of the Court are thinking about the low esteem the court is now facing because of these indiscretions by one of their members. It must make cordial relations among the justices much more difficult.
And no less an onlooker than Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) tweeted “the highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standard. Justice Thomas’ lavish undisclosed trips with a GOP mega-donor undermine the trust that our country places in the Supreme Court. Time for an enforceable code of conduct for justices.”
Justices should know their limits on accepting gifts. Chief Justice John Roberts has written: “Congress has directed justices and judges to comply with both financial reporting requirements and limitations on the receipt of gifts and outside earned income.”
How long will Justice Thomas remain on the court? It’s been far too long already. For the benefit of returning “propriety” of the court, and for the good of the nation, a native of our own state, Clarence Thomas, should resign.
Veteran Georgia journalist Elliott Brack is editor and publisher of GwinnettForum, where this commentary first appeared. Have a comment? Sent to: feedback@statehousereport.com.
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