Clarence Thomas put on the spot over which corruption allegations are 'lies'

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is getting pushback after complaining at a legal conference last week that he and his wife Ginni are being treated unfairly with allegations of corruption while at the same time refusing to explain questions about his alleged ethical transgressions.

On Friday, the 75-year-old conservative justice, who has been notable for saying little during hearings throughout his 30-plus years on the bench, was more than willing to speak in general terms about the multiple exposes about gifts, loans and help he has received from wealthy conservatives.

As the Associated Press reported, "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told attendees at a judicial conference Friday that he and his wife have faced 'nastiness' and 'lies' over the last several years and decried Washington, D.C., as a 'hideous place.' Thomas spoke at a conference attended by judges, attorneys and other court personnel in the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference, which hears federal cases from Alabama, Florida, and Georgia."

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According to the report, Thomas sidestepped questions about the accusations, telling the attendees, "I think there’s challenges to that. We’re in a world and we — certainly my wife and I the last two or three years it’s been — just the nastiness and the lies, it’s just incredible.”

That led MSNBC analyst Steve Benen to suggest that Thomas has every opportunity to address the allegations and put them to rest.

Pointing to the multiple reports about Thomas receiving and hiding his outside-of-the-court benefits, Benen summed up, "It’s an impossible dynamic to defend: Thomas has lived the life of a wealthy man, thanks to the generosity of his rich, like-minded friends."

He then challenged the jurist by saying,"I’m afraid he’s going to have to be more specific. Specifically, which of the scandals should the public discount? Because on the one hand we have a great many compelling, well-sourced, award-winning reports written and published by respected journalists. On the other hand, we have a controversial Supreme Court justice, burdened by decades of controversies, who apparently hopes the public takes his vague assertions at face value, despite his lack of credibility."

"This doesn’t seem like an especially tough call," the MSNBC analyst concluded.