The 2-page letter to Crow is transient and to the purpose: Regardless of Thomas’ makes an attempt at producing some form of fake umbrage, these presents are manner exterior the bounds. That’s notably true of a sequence of actual property offers, that are one space that even the comparatively rule-free Supreme Court docket dictates that transactions should be recorded.
The letter calls for an itemized listing of presents (together with lodging and transportation), actual property transactions, and anything of worth that Crow has given to Thomas or different Supreme Court docket justices. The follow-up letters to the businesses ask them to establish dates the place Thomas, or another justice of the Supreme Court docket, has been transported or been a visitor.
Regardless of Thomas’ fixed references to Crow as one among his “dearest friends,” the reality is that the 2 males didn’t meet till 1996—5 years after Thomas had joined the Court docket and at some extent when Crow was already concerned in various organizations that had enterprise earlier than the Court docket. As The Dallas Morning News reported, their very first assembly got here when Crow gave Thomas a free experience on his personal jet in order that Thomas might come to Dallas to talk for the conservative Nationwide Heart for Coverage Evaluation. Thomas gave due to Crow in that speech, which he opened by defending the Accomplice flag on the stage subsequent to him.
That’s the “meet cute” story of Crow and Thomas. These will not be childhood associates, or guys who occurred to be on the identical bowling group. They met doing what they nonetheless do—with Crow serving to Thomas to align the Court docket with probably the most excessive politics on the proper. That’s how they turned such “expensive associates.”
Lower than a yr after that first assembly, Thomas was again on Crow’s personal jet for a visit to an “unique all-male retreat,” which The Washington Post describes as “the place the wealthy and highly effective misbehave.” A retreat that is stuffed with unusual rituals and secret rites.
The membership is so hush-hush that little may be definitively mentioned about it, however a lot of what we all know right now is from those that have infiltrated the camp, together with Texas-based filmmaker Alex Jones. In 2000, Jones and his cameraman entered the camp with a hidden digicam and have been in a position to movie a Bohemian Grove ceremony, Cremation of the Care. Through the ceremony, members put on costumes and cremate a coffin effigy referred to as “Care” earlier than a 40-foot-owl, in deference to the encompassing Redwood bushes.
That was the second assembly between Crow and Thomas. Their friendship was cemented whereas carrying masks and performing sacrifices to an enormous owl.
In 2004, The Los Angeles Times reported on the in depth journey that Crow had supplied to Thomas by that time, in addition to one among Crow’s relicts—a bible that had reportedly belonged to Frederick Douglas—that had been given to Thomas in 2001. Even at that time, the Occasions identified that the presents Thomas was accepting have been “way more useful” than something being given to different members of the Court docket. On a few of these first journeys, Thomas had truly reported Crow’s presents, however as the worth of these presents elevated, Thomas stopped.
When Thomas says “Harlan and Kathy Crow are amongst our dearest associates, and we’ve been associates for over twenty-five years,” what he means is he met them after he was on the Court docket, their conferences have been deeply political, and that from the very first second Crow was giving Thomas presents that in another court docket would have been instantly acknowledged as inappropriate, if not outright bribery.
What adopted, along with extra of these lavish journeys, was Crow paying for a private school education for one among Thomas’ relations in 2008. Serving to Thomas’ spouse, Ginni, begin her “nonprofit” by offering the primary half a million dollars in 2009.
In 2014, Crow bought property from Thomas, together with his mom’s dwelling, which Crow improved and expanded whereas Thomas’ mom continued to reside there rent-free. Crow reportedly paid nicely over market worth for this property. Thomas did not report the transaction, although now that he’s been caught, he says he intends to “amend” his previous disclosures.
The Washington Post has opined that Thomas ought to pay again Crow’s presents—one thing that’s completely potential, since Thomas has a private internet value of $24 million and his spouse has private wealth someplace round $78 million, a lot of that due to cash that has been passed through Ginni Thomas’ “consulting” business from the leaders of different conservative organizations.
There’s no motive that Thomas couldn’t pay his personal manner on trip. He definitely might have parted with $133,000 to improve his mom’s dwelling. He simply didn’t. As a result of his “expensive pal” did it for him.
The presents Thomas has obtained are in direct violation of the principles of the Supreme Court docket—and discovering a degree of corruption nice sufficient to violate these guidelines takes some work. They may also represent taxable income that Thomas has did not report.
None of these is more likely to matter. Republicans will proceed to fake that that is all simply “political.” And it’s. As a result of for them, corruption and injection of huge wealth into the system is critical for his or her social gathering’s survival.
It’s no coincidence that, proper between getting the personal faculty tuition, the $500,000 reward to Ginni Thomas, and the true property buy, Thomas delivered the deciding vote in Residents United v. FEC, which opened political campaigns to limitless spending by exterior teams. Votes like that … that’s what that is all about.