Investigative Journalism in the Public Interest
The trips include vacations in Indonesia and at the exclusive, men’s-only Bohemian Grove retreat, which were first reported by ProPublica last year.
The Supreme Court justice flew to Montana and other destinations on the billionaire GOP donor’s dime. Crow’s lawyer revealed these flights to the Senate Judiciary Committee, whose ongoing investigation was sparked by ProPublica’s reporting.
Island-hopping on a superyacht. Private jet rides around the world. The undisclosed gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the Supreme Court. “It’s incomprehensible to me that someone would do this,” says one former judge.
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that Thomas, facing financial strain, privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.
Even by Thomas’ own permissive interpretation, the justice’s recently revealed travel to Palm Springs and the Bohemian Grove appear to violate the disclosure law, experts explained.
The lavish travel, real estate deal and tuition arrangements have set off a frenzy. Here’s where our reporting started and how we got the story.
The new filing comes after ProPublica’s reporting on the Supreme Court justice’s beneficial relationship with the billionaire GOP megadonor. Thomas also reported three private jet trips provided by Crow.
In lavishing gifts on the Supreme Court justice, the billionaire GOP donor may have violated tax laws, according to tax experts.
In pushing to kick-start an inquiry into Thomas’ lavish travel provided by a GOP megadonor, the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center wrote that the ethics issue has “historic implications far beyond one Supreme Court justice.”
Crow paid for private school for a relative Thomas said he was raising “as a son.” “This is way outside the norm,” said a former White House ethics lawyer.
The fullest accounting yet shows how Thomas has secretly reaped the benefits from a network of wealthy and well-connected patrons that is far more extensive than previously understood.
In response to a ProPublica report, Thomas explained why he did not disclose lavish travel provided by billionaire Harlan Crow. But legal experts maintain the justice was required to make these disclosures.
The lawmakers said the chief justice was duty-bound to conduct a “swift, thorough, independent and transparent investigation” of Thomas’ undisclosed travel with billionaire Harlan Crow in order to “safeguard public faith in the judiciary.”
Influential Democratic legislators are pushing for changes at the Supreme Court and a probe into Thomas’ undisclosed luxury trips provided by powerful conservative donor Harlan Crow.
In response to ProPublica reporting, the friend said Crow covered two years of schooling for the teen, which would amount to roughly $100,000 of undisclosed gifts.
The transaction is the first known instance of money flowing from Crow to the Supreme Court justice. The sale netted the GOP megadonor two vacant lots and the house where Thomas’ mother was living.
We’ve updated our database with the latest financial filings from eight justices, detailing millions in book income, almost 40 trips and one gift.
We’ve added more information about the Supreme Court justices’ finances, including newly uncovered filings from Clarence Thomas from the 1990s and Samuel Alito’s latest disclosure.
Our national, regional and Local Reporting Network teams’ coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court, sexual assault, house flippers and the health insurance system were among the stories that ProPublica readers spent the most time with in 2023.
The update includes data from eight financial disclosures made public last Friday that cover 2023, as well as information from some older filings.
Judge Aileen M. Cannon has shown bias in throwing out Trump’s classified documents case and must be replaced if the appeals court overturns her decision, argues public interest advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
The award marks ProPublica’s 7th Pulitzer; Uvalde shooting investigation is named a Pulitzer finalist.
An email from a reader helped a team of ProPublica reporters uncover secret tuition payments Harlan Crow made for a family member of Clarence Thomas. Now we’re looking for tips on the election, and you can help.
In their extensive probe, Senate investigators found evidence to suggest Crow has made repeated misrepresentations to the U.S. government. ProPublica revealed the tax maneuvers in a previous story.
The subpoenas ask for details on gifts, travel and other perks the two men provided or helped arrange for Supreme Court justices and their relatives, but Senate Democrats will need help from their GOP colleagues if Crow and Leo defy the subpoenas.
More than two months after authorizing subpoenas for two key figures in the Supreme Court’s ethics crisis, Senate Democrats have yet to issue them.
In a call with donors, First Liberty Institute’s Kelly Shackelford read the supportive email he said came from Thomas. The leader of the religious-rights group also labeled Justice Elena Kagan “treasonous” for backing a stronger ethics code.
Most rights are based in statute, but dozens — such as rights to same-sex marriage, search warrants and Miranda warnings — are based on judicial rulings that the Supreme Court can overturn and that current justices have questioned some aspect of.
Experts say it is unclear if the new rules, which come after reporting by ProPublica and others revealed that justices had repeatedly failed to disclose gifts and travel from wealthy donors, would address the issues raised by the recent revelations.
In a sit-down conversation with ProPublica, Biden discusses Kevin McCarthy’s “terrible bargain,” the fear of change that drives threats to democracy and the Supreme Court’s need for an ethics policy.
Conservative activist Leonard Leo helped elect a judge in Wisconsin. Without him, the GOP feared their agenda would be “toast,” according to an email.
For decades, the business lobby fundamentally moderated the nation’s immigration debate. But in the age of Trump, fearful of advocating publicly on this issue, they’ve largely prioritized other things like corporate tax cuts and deregulation.
As many as five House seats could flip in 2024 after the Allen v. Milligan ruling, in which the Supreme Court upheld a key provision of the Voting Rights Act.
Ambiguous — and unenforced — recusal standards mean few checks and balances for top judges when cases involve their family members.
The inside story of how Leonard Leo built a machine that remade the American legal system — and what he plans to do next.
Facing financial ruin, the Lac du Flambeau tribe began offering short-term loans online with annual rates often over 600%. But as the tribe rose in an industry derided for predatory practices, it put its reputation at risk and drew costly lawsuits.
The letters cite ProPublica’s reporting on an undisclosed private jet flight and Alaska fishing vacation provided to Justice Samuel Alito.
Sign up for ProPublica’s Big Story newsletter and get our latest stories delivered straight to your inbox.