SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas has received more than $4 million in gifts over the last two decades

[jonnyutah 293]

1 hour ago, RLLD said:

I would prefer he avoid even the hint of impropriety, while this might not be illegal or even against rules, it does not look very good. The SCOTUS should refrain from this stuff.

What next, will we find evidence of money being funneled to him through some relative? 

Should refrain from having rich friends? I mean the article even concedes they are actually friends. 

 

[Mike Honcho 5,296]

1 minute ago, jonnyutah said:

Should refrain from having rich friends? I mean the article even concedes they are actually friends. 

 

I don't consider this a complete nothing burger, but in the grand scheme of problems it's pretty low, but I do find it concerning that that he disregarded the reporting for gifts. It makes me wonder why?

[RLLD 4,254]

5 minutes ago, jonnyutah said:

Should refrain from having rich friends? I mean the article even concedes they are actually friends. 

 

I think any restraint on our part to divide ourselves, to separate ourselves, is self-defeating so I would not reccomend it. 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,512]

People think that a guy who went to Yale has poor friends? But, that being said, if he was supposed to report something, he should have. Perhaps an audit of all federal judges is necessary? 

[Engorgeous George 2,331]

Canon 1: A Judge Should Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary
Canon 2: A Judge Should Avoid Impropriety and the Appearance of Impropriety in All Activities

[dogcows 1,030]

21 minutes ago, Hardcore troubadour said:

People think that a guy who went to Yale has poor friends? But, that being said, if he was supposed to report something, he should have. Perhaps an audit of all federal judges is necessary? 

Other federal judges are bound by ethics laws. The Supreme Court is exempt from many of them, because they themselves decide their own penalties, and they haven’t created a formal system to address ethical violations. As for other federal judges, I think they could strengthen the ethics laws for them too. The argument has always seemed to be that they are distinguished judges and will do the right thing. Yeah… not so much.

For example, it is up to each Justice whether to recuse themselves from any case. So if a justice’s spouse was on trial? The justice could not be forced to recuse him or herself. That’s messed up. Time for a reasonable level of accountability for these life-long appointees.

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/6/23672921/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-propublica-luxury-trips-harlan-crow

[RLLD 4,254]

5 minutes ago, dogcows said:

Other federal judges are bound by ethics laws. The Supreme Court is exempt from many of them, because they themselves decide their own penalties, and they haven’t created a formal system to address ethical violations. As for other federal judges, I think they could strengthen the ethics laws for them too. The argument has always seemed to be that they are distinguished judges and will do the right thing. Yeah… not so much.

For example, it is up to each Justice whether to recuse themselves from any case. So if a justice’s spouse was on trial? The justice could not be forced to recuse him or herself. That’s messed up. Time for a reasonable level of accountability for these life-long appointees.

https://www.vox.com/politics/2023/4/6/23672921/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-propublica-luxury-trips-harlan-crow

This is a concern.  This needs to be addressed. We need all possible checks against power....

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

7 hours ago, Dizkneelande said:

Says the sh!tlib who started a thread about winning a state Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin titled “Biggest Win”. 

Well sure. But that’s an election. And the Tennessee situation was a political event. This is a scandal. And while I find scandals interesting at times I don’t much care about their win/loss aspect. Others do. 

[jerryskids 6,838]

11 hours ago, Vince44 said:

Uncle Tom Clarence is a dirty corrupt POS. It's all slowly leaking out in the Trump years with him and his wife. Too bad they won't look deeper into him to nail down the smoking gun to boot him off the SC. Biden could put a Democrat in his seat. 

 

11 hours ago, seafoam1 said:

World's biggest racist says what?

Agreed.  I wonder if progressives who use disparaging remarks to dehumanize successful black people realize that they are incredibly racist.  They just need to knock down any uppity negro who dares not follow the script that he has no chance of success in our rrrracissss terrible country.   

[EternalShinyAndChrome 4,136]

6 minutes ago, jerryskids said:

 

Agreed.  I wonder if progressives who use disparaging remarks to dehumanize successful black people realize that they are incredibly racist.  They just need to knock down any uppity negro who dares not follow the script that he has no chance of success in our rrrracissss terrible country.   

Like I've always said, Racism NEVER left the Democrat Party.  It has always been there and just has gone "underground" (i.e. not as explicit as they used to be) and shows up in a lot of their policies and even outright every now and then when tools like @Vince44 can't hold back any longer.  The racists are alive and well on the left side of the aisle - guys like Vince44.

The phrase, "If a Liberal is accusing you of something, you can be 100% sure they have already done it or are currently doing it." is really a thing.

[Tree of Knowledge 1,878]

Entire post is very racist in tone.  I guess Thomas should have gone to a plantation and picked cotton for Simon Legree at some slave fantasy camp for his vacation?  

Liberals…. Always trying to keep successful blacks in their shackles.

[Reality 3,121]

12 hours ago, Vince44 said:

Uncle Tom Clarence is a dirty corrupt POS. It's all slowly leaking out in the Trump years with him and his wife. Too bad they won't look deeper into him to nail down the smoking gun to boot him off the SC. Biden could put a Democrat in his seat. 

Not sure why after all these years but, always blows me away how blatantly racist liberals are in this country. Unreal.

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

4 minutes ago, EternalShinyAndChrome said:

Like I've always said, Racism NEVER left the Democrat Party.  It has always been there and just has gone "underground" (i.e. not as explicit as they used to be) and shows up in a lot of their policies and even outright every now and then when tools like @Vince44 can't hold back any longer.  The racists are alive and well on the left side of the aisle - guys like Vince44.

The phrase, "If a Liberal is accusing you of something, you can be 100% sure they have already done it or are currently doing it." is really a thing.

This is actually very  true. White liberal Democrats have a long history of paternalistic racism. 

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

Just now, Reality said:

Not sure why after all these years but, always blows me away how blatantly racist liberals are in this country. Unreal.

Why does it surprise you? There is a long history of racism in this country. Like anti-semitism, it is immune to political persuasion. We need to fight it  whenever it appears. 

[Reality 3,121]

19 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

Why does it surprise you? There is a long history of racism in this country. Like anti-semitism, it is immune to political persuasion. We need to fight it  whenever it appears. 

It's the blatant part, liberals assume they are immune, I guess? Or, they are so racist to the core that they don't even realize it?

[Hardcore troubadour 15,512]

22 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

Why does it surprise you? There is a long history of racism in the world. Like anti-semitism, it is immune to political persuasion. We need to fight it  whenever it appears. 

 

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

3 minutes ago, Reality said:

It's the blatant part, liberals assume they are immune, I guess? Or, they are so racist to the core that they don't even realize it?

Most people who are racist don’t acknowledge it, even to themselves. 

[RLLD 4,254]

29 minutes ago, Reality said:

Not sure why after all these years but, always blows me away how blatantly racist liberals are in this country. Unreal.

Racism is everywhere, across the globe.

Domestically it was the Democrats who supported and defended it, that is until it became useful to leverage "others" to win elections. Then they pretended to not be racists, and get into office and then mke the lives of minorities ever worse.  So its racism by other means. 

We can see all participants being racist here and there. And I suspect it will be with us forever. But each of us as indivisuals can control our own behaviors.

Gratefully, the systemic racism has been eliminated with the removal of all those Democrat laws that infused segregation etc. 

[squistion 2,227]

2 hours ago, The Real timschochet said:

Well sure. But that’s an election. And the Tennessee situation was a political event. This is a scandal. And while I find scandals interesting at times I don’t much care about their win/loss aspect. Others do. 

It is not a question of the win/loss aspect for any side. It is a question of right and wrong and it would be wrong for any member of the judiciary to accept a gift of this value.

 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,512]

Can’t expel the insurrectionists in Tennessee because they are black. It’s a bad look for the republicans.  

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

18 minutes ago, squistion said:

It is not a question of the win/loss aspect for any side. It is a question of right and wrong and it would be wrong for any member of the judiciary to accept a gift of this value.

 

One of the reasons I don’t think this is such a big deal is that those numbers are misleading. If a rich friend of yours offers you to join him on his jet plane or his yacht, that is not the same as him handing you cash which would be the equivalent of the cost of independently riding on a jet or a yacht. He’s not really receiving something of value that is the same as, say an expensive painting or actual money.

If you were to throw a party at your house, and you offered food and drinks (which is standard when you throw a party), should a judge that was invited need to report that he received food and drinks at your house? I’m not seeing much of a difference here. 

[RaiderHaters Revenge 4,361]

7 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

One of the reasons I don’t think this is such a big deal is that those numbers are misleading. If a rich friend of yours offers you to join him on his jet plane or his yacht, that is not the same as him handing you cash which would be the equivalent of the cost of independently riding on a jet or a yacht. He’s not really receiving something of value that is the same as, say an expensive painting or actual money.

If you were to throw a party at your house, and you offered food and drinks (which is standard when you throw a party), should a judge that was invited need to report that he received food and drinks at your house? I’m not seeing much of a difference here. 

very logical Tim, also the cost of the trip might be 500,000 but what if 30 people went on the jet and yacht

 

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

16 minutes ago, RaiderHaters Revenge said:

very logical Tim, also the cost of the trip might be 500,000 but what if 30 people went on the jet and yacht

 

Exactly. It should come as no surprise to you that I’m not at all a fan of Clarence Thomas (I suspect you are). But this just doesn’t seem like a big deal. 

[thegeneral 3,259]

24 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

One of the reasons I don’t think this is such a big deal is that those numbers are misleading. If a rich friend of yours offers you to join him on his jet plane or his yacht, that is not the same as him handing you cash which would be the equivalent of the cost of independently riding on a jet or a yacht. He’s not really receiving something of value that is the same as, say an expensive painting or actual money.

If you were to throw a party at your house, and you offered food and drinks (which is standard when you throw a party), should a judge that was invited need to report that he received food and drinks at your house? I’m not seeing much of a difference here. 

I’d put a party with some pigs in a blanket well under flying around on a PJ to Thailand.

Yes SC judges are going to roll with some rich people but perhaps a system for reporting things like this or to be made public would be smart.

The system would not require a lunch at Chili’s but would perhpas record vacations to Hawaii on someone’s dime. 

[The Real timschochet 6,849]

6 minutes ago, thegeneral said:

I’d put a party with some pigs in a blanket well under flying around on a PJ to Thailand.

Yes SC judges are going to roll with some rich people but perhaps a system for reporting things like this or to be made public would be smart.

The system would not require a lunch at Chili’s but would perhpas record vacations to Hawaii on someone’s dime. 

Smart and illegal are two different measures. I agree that it was a terrible PR move for Thomas to have hidden this stuff- I doubt it’s illegal but it doesn’t look good, and it further hurts the reputation of a court that already has credibility problems. 

[Horseman 2,481]

Might help if some of you educated yourself on what is required to report.

Food and stays at private property aren't required to be reported.  All that is in debate is the travel, plane/boat.

[thegeneral 3,259]

10 minutes ago, The Real timschochet said:

Smart and illegal are two different measures. I agree that it was a terrible PR move for Thomas to have hidden this stuff- I doubt it’s illegal but it doesn’t look good, and it further hurts the reputation of a court that already has credibility problems. 

I don’t think it’s illegal either on the face of it. SC justices can hang out with people and they can be stinking rich that’s fine.

That this is being pointed out is a good thing and the discussions that come out of it are a good thing.

I am surprised there isn’t some mechanism in place to report this type of stuff and if there isn’t there probably should be. I have to report getting free tickets to a ball game at work for instance

[thegeneral 3,259]

7 minutes ago, Horseman said:

Might help if some of you educated yourself on what is required to report.

Food and stays at private property aren't required to be reported.  All that is in debate is the travel, plane/boat.

Yeah I’d say that is pretty weak tracking they have to do. Time for these old farts to get some more assistants to track their stays on private islands or whatever I’m addition to the PJ they rode in on. 

[Cdub100 3,933]

Witch hunt. Liberals don't like black people who think for themselves.

[thegeneral 3,259]

21 minutes ago, Cdub100 said:

Witch hunt. Liberals don't like black people who think for themselves.

Great post! Well done. 

[Strike 5,590]

Don't worry all.  AOC has gracefully committed to filing articles of impeachment against Judge Thomas.  You got him now!!!!

[thegeneral 3,259]

1 hour ago, Strike said:

Don't worry all.  AOC has gracefully committed to filing articles of impeachment against Judge Thomas.  You got him now!!!!

Do you have any opinions about a SC judge getting excessively lavish gifts? 

[Hardcore troubadour 15,512]

1 hour ago, Strike said:

Don't worry all.  AOC has gracefully committed to filing articles of impeachment against Judge Thomas.  You got him now!!!!

That idiot is under an ethics investigation herself for taking things and not reporting it. Too funny. 

[Mr Fantasy 67]

1 hour ago, Strike said:

Don't worry all.  AOC has gracefully committed to filing articles of impeachment against Judge Thomas.  You got him now!!!!

She should this one out with the probe into her “gifts”

 

oops , missed the Hardore post

[Dizkneelande 1,103]

This sick twisted leftist uses a Twitter burner account to threaten conservatives.

https://twitter.com/realnikohouse/status/1642525392165535744?s=46&t=Fib7p2nPeGXuJiuDfFsfmA

 

[Pimpadeaux 2,406]

Justice's buddy just loves Hitler, other dictators.

https://www.washingtonian.com/2023/04/07/clarence-thomass-billionaire-benefactor-collects-hitler-artifacts/?fbclid=IwAR1GOE2wjqMaaphaUdQZ2AUCadOwo7i5U_GbbVroHx8a1Dc770eOdrVWZFM

Quote

When Republican megadonor Harlan Crow isn’t lavishing Justice Clarence Thomas with free trips on his private plane and yacht (in possible violation of Supreme Court ethics rules), he lives a quiet life in Dallas among his historical collections. These collections include Hitler artifacts—two of his paintings of European cityscapes, a signed copy of Mein Kampf, and assorted Nazi memorabilia—plus a garden full of statues of the 20th century’s worst despots.

A MAGAtard wet dream, for sure. MAGAtard wants our country to become a dictatorship.

[Voltaire 5,321]

He's been and continues to be an excellent justice. I do wish he'd disclosed the trips and gifts as it's disappointing that he hasn't.

[GutterBoy 2,899]

On 4/7/2023 at 10:23 AM, jerryskids said:

 

Agreed.  I wonder if progressives who use disparaging remarks to dehumanize successful black people realize that they are incredibly racist.  They just need to knock down any uppity negro who dares not follow the script that he has no chance of success in our rrrracissss terrible country.   

It's so funny to see the same people that complain about everything being racist turn heel and cry racism when one of their one is under attack for nothing to do with race.

The right talks about black cities being sh1t holes, crime stats, quick twitch to violence, etc.

But question a sc judge's ethics after receiving millions from a pro Nazi figure, and it's all about keeping the black man down.

Smh.  Ridiculous.

[Dizkneelande 1,103]

13 hours ago, Voltaire said:

He's been and continues to be an excellent justice. I do wish he'd disclosed the trips and gifts as it's disappointing that he hasn't.

“Federal law requires most officer holders to report gifts on financial disclosure forms, but not all gifts -there are certain exemptions. Federal judges including the SCOTUS have had financial disclosure requirements for a long time, but in 2021 Congress passed a new law on this.”

“The new law required judges, including at SCOTUS, to use the same requirements as members of Congress. So, new guidance was issued by the part of the federal judiciary's administrative office for judges to use in filing out the forms.”

“ the exemptions is that gifts that are "food, lodging and entertainment" given by an individual & that are "received as personal hospitality."

 

[Voltaire 5,321]

9 minutes ago, Dizkneelande said:

“Federal law requires most officer holders to report gifts on financial disclosure forms, but not all gifts -there are certain exemptions. Federal judges including the SCOTUS have had financial disclosure requirements for a long time, but in 2021 Congress passed a new law on this.”

“The new law required judges, including at SCOTUS, to use the same requirements as members of Congress. So, new guidance was issued by the part of the federal judiciary's administrative office for judges to use in filing out the forms.”

“ the exemptions is that gifts that are "food, lodging and entertainment" given by an individual & that are "received as personal hospitality."

 

Were it me, I'd have been filing that stuff all along. These are hugely expensive vacations and perks and not doing so violates at least the spirit of the law if not exactly the letter.

Since left-wing corporate media despises Justice Thomas, they would be raking him over the coal mercilessly for presiding over anything to do with Harlan Crow over the years. so I presume he never has.