Our Legal System Is a Wreck... Here's the Proof

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, His Gifts, and Systemic Impunity

As if we needed more proof that our institutions are totally broken after Trump’s recent conviction in a kangaroo court, we get a story about the unbelievable levels of corruption within the U.S. Supreme Court.

Interestingly, it has gone largely underreported, despite the Supreme Court being embroiled in controversy for months, with new details emerging almost weekly. It's sickening and beyond ridiculous, so naturally, I wanted to share it with you, my cherished readers.

Receiving "Gifts"

Now, you may not know this, but Supreme Court Justices love gifts. That’s just their thing. But nobody loves getting gifts as much as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas does. In fact, in recent years, he has received 10 times more gifts than all the other justices combined.

He has got VIP passes to pro sports events, stays at luxury resorts, yacht trips, private plane flights, and a bunch of other stuff like a replica Super Bowl ring, and expensive cigars.

The man likes to be spoiled, what can I say? And the details of his escapades are pretty juicy.

For instance, Justice Thomas also took a 9-day yacht trip, island-hopping around Indonesia with meals included, courtesy of Crow Holdings LLC, owned by Harlan Crow, a real estate mogul and big-time political donor.

He also flew round-trip on a private plane from Washington DC to Indonesia via Hawaii, courtesy of HRZNAR LLC, another company linked to Crow.

And, most outrageously, he had his grandnephew's tuition paid by Harlan Crow for $37,800, and another grandnephew's tuition covered for $155,000.

If these aren't the most glaring examples of corruption at the highest echelons of our government, I don't know what is.

Not Just a One-Man Problem

But maybe it's all okay because, as it turns out, the nine Supreme Court Justices are legally allowed to receive lavish gifts. They only have two conditions to comply with.

Condition one: they have to report gifts over $415. And, please don't laugh, condition two: gifts must not influence their decisions.

Of course, the issue is that if they don't adhere to these rules, there's nothing anyone can do about it. Remember, there’s no higher court than the Supreme Court.

The only way to get rid of a Supreme Court Justice is to impeach them, which is hard and almost never happens. The last time it did happen was about 200 years ago.

In summary, Supreme Court Justices believe they're above the law because they occupy the highest echelons of authority. Justice Clarence Thomas exemplifies this attitude.

Did he report the gifts he received that were over $415 in value?

Of course not. Reporting lavish gifts isn't a good look, you see. So, Justice Thomas tried to hide many of them. For instance, he failed to report his vacation to Bali that he received on July 12th, 2019.

And just last week, on June 13th, we found out about three more undisclosed trips Justice Thomas took: a private jet flight from Missouri to Montana in May 2017; a private jet flight from Washington, D.C., to Georgia and back in March 2019; and a flight from Washington, D.C., to California in June 2021.

His excuse was, "Oh, I didn't know I had to report that." Then he changed it to, "I didn't think I needed to report vacations that were gifted to me."

Now, worth $4 million and earning about $300,000 a year, Justice Thomas could easily afford vacations and private jet trips. But why pay out of your own pocket when you're legally allowed to accept, cough cough, gifts?

And, boy, did he accept them all in spades! In total, Justice Thomas has taken 38 destination vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight helicopter rides, sporting event tickets, luxury resort stays, and more, totaling over $4.2 million. That's more than his entire net worth!

I'm totally convinced everyone is showering Justice Thomas with gifts just because he's a “close friend” — as he put it himself in one of his recent statements:

Clarence Thomas: Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable. I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines.

You see, he did his best. Anyway, it’s all good because if he feels influenced, he'll just step away from the case. Right?

“Following protocol” (while being virtually untouchable in their positions) certainly explains why these Supreme Court judges are multi millionaires… Samuel Alito is worth $10 million, Sonia Sotomayor $5 million, Elena Kagan $4 million, Neil Gorsuch $8 million, Brett Kavanaugh $2 million, Amy Coney Barrett $4 million, Ketanji Brown Jackson $2 million, and Chief Justice John Roberts a staggering $25 million.

That really gets to the heart of the problem with America’s institutions today — whether Congress, the Supreme Court, the White House, or any other, they've been corrupted to the core. And, as George Carlin famously put it, “Nobody seems to notice, nobody seems to care.”

This story is a stark reminder of that truth because, trust me, Justice Thomas isn't likely to lose his Supreme Court seat anytime soon.

Regards,

Lau Vegys