Fresh off reports that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted luxury travel and accommodations from billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow without any disclosure, a new report reveals Thomas also sold Crow his family home without disclosing it — which experts say is a much more clear-cut violation of federal ethics laws.
ProPublica reporter Josh Kaplan, who broke the story, delved into more detail on CNN's "The Lead" Thursday.
"Explain the significance of what you found here, this 2014 real estate transaction between Justice Thomas and Mr. Crow," said anchor Jake Tapper.
"Yes, so we found that Harlan Crow bought property from Justice Thomas in a undisclosed real estate deal," said Kaplan. "Crow paid roughly $133,000 to Thomas and his relatives for three properties, one of which was the house, that old house that Thomas' mom was living in. And the other two were vacant lots down the street. And Thomas did not disclose this, which experts told us appears to be a clear violation of government ethics law."
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"So as you said, I mean, last week we reported that Thomas had accepted numerous luxury trips from Crow, private jet flights, international yacht cruises, all in secret. And Crow and Thomas responded to that reporting by saying that they were just close friends, but this is the first direct, first known direct financial transaction between these two men."
"So correct me if I'm wrong , but in addition to not disclosing the sale of those properties in Savannah, Justice Thomas also had a space on the disclosure form to report the identity of the buyer, but he left it blank," said Tapper. "Is that right?"
"That is correct," said Kaplan. "Yes, he did not disclose the sale and also did not disclose who he was selling it to, which, you know the judiciary's forms at the time requested."
"Did you get any response from either Justice Thomas or Harlan Crow about your story?" Tapper pressed him.
"Yes so well, not from Justice Thomas," said Kaplan. "We went to Thomas with detailed questions, and he did not respond. Crow did tell us that he approached the Thomases about buying these properties, and that he intends to one day turn Thomas' mother's house into a museum, which to be clear, experts told us that Crow's intentions, whatever they may be, are irrelevant to the legal question of Thomas' obligation to disclose this transaction."
"Crow also didn't directly address why he bought also bought two other properties from Thomas, the vacant lots down the road, but he did say that he ultimately sold those to a builder who is committed to improving the neighborhood."
Watch video below or at this link.
Josh Kaplan on Clarence Thomas' secret real estate transactionwww.youtube.com
