Hidden Gifts, Biased Decisions: Unmasking Billionaire Influence On Clarence Thomas

"Justice Thomas used Supreme courtroom for Horatio Alger Association ceremonies"

"At Horatio Alger, Clarence Thomas moved into the inner circle, a cluster of extraordinarily wealthy, largely conservative members who lionized him and all that he had achieved. While he has never held an official leadership position, in some ways he has become the association’s leading light. He has granted it unusual access to the Supreme Court, where every year he presides over the group’s signature event..." - NY Times

Struggling to keep track of all the gifts, luxury trips and other favors Clarence Thomas gets from billionaires while voting to ban abortions, gut the EPA and more? Use this relationship map to track the Hidden Gifts and Biased Decisions.

Wined and dined

"His friendships forged though Horatio Alger have brought him proximity to a lifestyle of unimaginable material privilege. Over the years, his Horatio Alger friends have welcomed him at their vacation retreats, arranged V.I.P. access to sporting events and invited him to their lavish parties... Prominent among his Horatio Alger friends has been David Sokol, the onetime heir apparent to Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway...in 2015, the Sokols hosted the Thomases for a visit to their sprawling Montana ranch. The Sokols have also hosted the Thomases at their waterfront mansion in Florida." - NY Times

Thomas ruling helped billionaire friend Harlan Crow

"Bloomberg reported, Thomas did not appear to recuse himself in a 2005 Supreme Court case involving Trammell Crow Residential, in which Crow Holdings owned a minority stake. In the coming months, the rent control issue flagged by Crow Holdings could be before Thomas and the high court. A group of New York landlords are preparing to petition the Supreme Court to overturn the city’s rent stabilization laws after losing a recent case. Such a ruling could endanger rent-control laws nationwide." - Lever News

"Clarence Thomas Is the Most Corrupt of an Extremely Corrupt Supreme Court

ProPublica reported that Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas — the most right-wing justice on the most right-wing court in generations — has for decades been secretly taking luxury trips and other lavish gifts paid for by billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow, all without disclosure, unambiguously breaking the law in the process. It’s worth reading the whole piece to drink in the full, scandalous details. Those include a photorealistic painting of Thomas and Crow at the latter’s opulent lakeside resort, depicting the two hanging out together with, among others, longtime Federalist Society bigwig Leonard Leo, maybe the leading architect of the court’s hard-right turn." - Jacobin

TakeAway: Don't let billionaires steal your freedoms through a compromised Supreme Court. Vote for Democrats.

Deepak
DemLabs

DISCLAIMER: ALTHOUGH THE DATA FOUND IN THIS BLOG AND INFOGRAPHIC HAS BEEN PRODUCED AND PROCESSED FROM SOURCES BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE, NO WARRANTY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED CAN BE MADE REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, LEGALITY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY SUCH INFORMATION. THIS DISCLAIMER APPLIES TO ANY USES OF THE INFORMATION WHETHER ISOLATED OR AGGREGATE USES THEREOF.

References:
Where Clarence Thomas Entered an Elite Circle and Opened a Door to the Court - NY Times
Clarence Thomas Is the Most Corrupt of an Extremely Corrupt Supreme Court - Jacobin
Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire - Pro Publica