No stranger to questions about his ethical standards
Steve Benen at the Maddow blog notes that Clarence Thomas has been pretty clear about his indifference to ethics.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is no stranger to questions about his ethical standards. The far-right jurist has, for example, faced awkward questions about incomplete financial disclosure forms. There have been related concerns about his appearances at wealthy conservatives’ political retreats, as well as his wife’s activism/lobbying on matters before the court.
And bless his heart he’s simply ignored all the concerns.
If you have a good memory, these revelations might ring a bell. The New York Times reported 12 years ago on the “ethically sensitive friendship” between Thomas and the GOP financier. Despite the fact that Crow’s company had multiple cases in the federal court system, the Times found that he’d showered Thomas with lucrative gifts, including a massive check to the justice’s wife to start a lobbying organization.
ProPublica, however, has advanced the story to a stunning degree, uncovering the details of Thomas’ travel “by drawing from flight records, internal documents distributed to Crow’s employees and interviews with dozens of people ranging from his superyacht’s staff to members of the secretive Bohemian Club to an Indonesian scuba diving instructor.”
Who played a major role in putting Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court after and in spite of Anita Hill’s testimony? Joe Biden, that’s who. Who rescued Thomas by hanging Hill out to dry? Joe Biden. Ironic, ain’t it.
I suspect that ‘despite’ should have been ‘because’. Of course, a journalist can’t say that; it’s speculation, and it can’t be verified.
I still burn over the Anita Hill thing. Not just Biden, but a lot of men who don’t give a damn that someone is a sexual predator. Hell, it’s only women, right? She must be a slut (thanks for nothing, David Brock).