Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took the lead among progressive lawmakers, calling for an inquiry by the Department of Justice into purported connections between Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow.
On Friday, the New York Democrat communicated with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, discussing the initiation of an investigation into the association between Thomas and the Republican megadonor, according to Fox News.
AOC accused the justice of “repeatedly neglecting to disclose substantial gifts he accepted from Harlan Crow and other billionaires for almost twenty years — in violation of his obligation under federal law.”
“Justice Thomas has received numerous undisclosed valuable gifts from Harlan Crow over the course of at least fifteen years,” Ocasio-Cortez claimed in her letter to Garland.
She went on to assert that Thomas repeatedly affirmed the accuracy, truthfulness, and completeness of his financial disclosure forms, potentially making him legally accountable.
ProPublica’s April publication titled “Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire” alleged that the justice omitted substantial gifts he was given by Crow in his disclosures.
The report also highlighted instances where Thomas did not recuse himself from cases before the court where there existed a potential conflict of interest.
In her communication with Garland, Ocasio-Cortez referenced the ProPublica piece and noted recent articles from the same source that unveiled additional affluent contributors who presented valuable items to Thomas and his family.
She pointed to a New York Times article detailing private funding that Thomas obtained to facilitate the purchase of a $267,000 RV.
“No one is above the law,” the congresswoman declared. “For two decades, Justice Thomas failed to report millions in gifts. Today, we asked DOJ to investigate Thomas for violating the Ethics of Government Act of 1978.”
In her message to Garland, she appended signatures from Democratic representatives Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Hank Johnson Jr. of Georgia, Jerrold Nadler of New York, and Ted Lieu of California.
Thomas defended his conduct, asserting that he followed protocols that categorize personal hospitality from friends as exempt from reporting.
