Democratic senators have released a final report uncovering additional luxury trips taken by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, concluding a nearly two-year ethics investigation by calling for an enforceable code of conduct, though prospects for action remain slim, as Republicans are set to take control of both the House and Senate in January.
The 93-page report, issued Saturday by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s current Democratic majority, reveals two more undisclosed trips taken by Justice Thomas in 2021.
Among these were a private jet flight to the Adirondacks in July and a lavish jet-and-yacht trip to New York City in October, both funded by billionaire Harlan Crow. The findings highlight more than two dozen occasions in which Thomas received luxury travel and gifts from wealthy benefactors, none of which were reported on his annual financial disclosure form—which continues a pattern for Thomas.
In 2023, the court established its first code of ethics, but compliance remains voluntary, with each of the nine justices responsible for following the guidelines at their discretion.
“The highest court in the land can’t have the lowest ethical standards,” the committee chairman, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, said in a statement, continuing his push for a Supreme Court code of ethics.
Republicans opposed the subpoenas issued for Crow and others during the investigation. None of them endorsed the final report, and no formal response from the GOP was anticipated.
A spokesperson for Crow stated that he willingly provided information for the investigation, but no concrete evidence of improper influence was found. Crow defended Justice Thomas and his wife, Ginni, asserting in a statement that they had been unjustly criticized. “They are good and honorable people, and no one should be treated this way,” he said.
Attorney Mark Paoletta, a longtime friend of Justice Thomas and a key figure in the incoming Trump administration argued that the report was politically motivated, targeting conservatives whose rulings Democrats opposed.
“This entire investigation was never about ‘ethics’ but about trying to undermine the Supreme Court,” Paoletta said in a statement posted on X.
Previously, Thomas stated that he was not obligated to disclose the trips he and his wife took with Crow, as the billionaire is a close family friend, and such travel was not previously required to be reported. However, the new ethics code now explicitly mandates the disclosure of such trips, and Thomas has since updated his financial filings to include some of the previously unreported travel.
The report traces the practice of accepting undisclosed gifts and numerous trips back to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, who is said to have “established the practice” during his decades on the bench. While late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and retired Justice Stephen Breyer also took subsidized trips, those liberal justices disclosed them on their annual financial forms, the report notes.
The investigation revealed that Thomas has accepted gifts and travel from wealthy benefactors valued at more than $4.75 million since his 1991 confirmation, with much of it going undisclosed.
“The number, value, and extravagance of the gifts accepted by Justice Thomas have no comparison in modern American history,” according to the report.
The report also highlighted a 2008 luxury trip to Alaska taken by Justice Samuel Alito, who stated that he was exempt from disclosing the trip under prior ethical guidelines.
Alito also resisted calls to recuse himself from cases involving Donald Trump or the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, despite flags associated with the riot being seen at two of his homes. He has since explained that the flags were raised by his wife.
Thomas has also disregarded calls to recuse himself from cases involving Trump. His wife, Ginni Thomas, played an active role in supporting Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
The report also highlighted scrutiny of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who, with the assistance of her staff, has promoted sales of her books through college visits over the past decade. Additionally, justices have faced criticism for hearing cases involving their book publishers or companies in which they held stock.
President Biden has been the most vocal Democrat advocating for a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court. Justice Elena Kagan has also publicly supported the idea of an enforcement mechanism, though some ethics experts have cautioned that it could face legal challenges.
Justice Neil Gorsuch recently cited the new code of conduct when he recused himself from an environmental case. He had been under pressure to step aside due to potential conflicts of interest, as the case’s outcome could benefit a Colorado billionaire whom Gorsuch had previously represented before his appointment to the bench.
The report also recommends reforms to the Judicial Conference, the federal courts’ oversight body led by Chief Justice John Roberts, and urges further congressional investigation into the matter.
