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Supreme Court Justices’ Report on Finance (1)
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas belatedly confirmed luxury trips with Republican donor Harlan Crow, while new financial disclosures revealed that his colleagues raised US$1.5 million in book proceeds last year and the singer <-bsp-person state="{"_id":"0000018f-f425-d5f2-a59f-f725c3b80002","_type":"00000160-6f41-dae1- adf0-6ff519590003"}">Beyoncé-bsp-person> gave judge Ketanji Brown Jackson a set of concert tickets.
Jackson topped the book list with an advance of $893,750 for his yet-to-be-published memoir, followed by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who reported receiving $340,000 after the court said this week that he is working on a “ legal memoir.” Justices Neil Gorsuch and Sonia Sotomayor also reported receiving accounting income.
Jackson said the singer <-bsp-person state="{"_id":"0000018f-f425-d5f2-a59f-f725c3bd0000","_type":"00000160-6f41-dae1-adf0-6ff519590003"}">Beyoncé Knowles- Carter-bsp-person> gave her four concert tickets worth $3,712. The newest judge also reported two gifts of artwork to her chambers valued at $12,500.
The revelations come amid increased scrutiny of the nine justices and their financial dealings, fueled largely by reports that Thomas took lavish vacations and flights on private planes financed by Crow.
Thomas’ new order included an amendment to his 2019 disclosure alluding to a cruise in Indonesia aboard Crow’s yacht and a trip with Crow to a men’s-only retreat in California. Thomas said Crow covered the costs of food and lodging for one night in Bali, Indonesia, and at least three nights in Monte Rio, California, home of the Bohemian Grove retreat.
Thomas’s release did not mention the cruise itself. Propublica revealed last year’s vacation, estimating that the cost of traveling around the islands could have exceeded US$500,000.
Thomas said the items listed were “inadvertently omitted” from his original 2019 report.
An analysis released this week by the watchdog group Fix the Court found that Thomas has received more than $4 million in gifts since his confirmation in 1991. The group’s calculations include rough estimates of the value of flights aboard private planes.
Thomas revealed that he received photo albums worth $2,000 from Terence and Barbara Giroux. Terence Giroux was executive director of <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/1672012D%20CN%20Equity","_id":"0000018f-f425-d5f2-a59f-f725c3be0000 ","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">Horatio Alger Association-bsp-bb-link>, a nonprofit organization that promotes libertarian ideals and provides college scholarships to low-income students. Thomas is an honorary member of the society’s board of directors.
Minister Samuel Alito, as is already common practice, received a 90-day extension to present his report.
Sotomayor earned $1,879 from Fred Rogers Productions for voice acting in an episode of the animated TV show Alma’s Way, which is about a Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx and her family.
Three of the judges reported earning extra income from teaching stints at various universities. Gorsuch topped the list with $29,798 in extra income from <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/74244MF%20US%20Equity","_id":"0000018f-f425-d5f2- a59f-f725c3c00000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b-d57ba1cc0000"}">George Mason University-bsp-bb-link>, followed by Kavanaugh, who earned $25,000 from the <-bsp-bb-link state="{"bbHref":"bbg://securities/0705206D%20US%20Equity","_id":"0000018f-f425-d5f2-a59f-f725c3c10000","_type":"0000016b-944a-dc2b-ab6b -d57ba1cc0000"}">University of Notre Dame Law School-bsp-bb-link>.
Judge Amy Coney Barrett also earned $14,947 at Notre Dame Law School. Barrett is writing a book but has not reported any income in 2023, after reporting a year ago that she brought in $425,000 in 2022.
(Adds details about Thomas’ disclosure from fifth paragraph.)
–With assistance from <-bsp-person state="{"_id":"0000018f-f425-d5f2-a59f-f725c3c30000","_type":"00000160-6f41-dae1-adf0-6ff519590003"}">Emily Birnbaum -bsp-person>.
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