USA Today
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been reporting income from defunct real estate company, report says
Ken Tran, USA TODAY – April 17, 2023
As Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is under heightened scrutiny for accepting lavish trips from a GOP billionaire megadonor, he also has been disclosing income from a now-defunct real estate company, The Washington Post reported.
Over the past two decades, Thomas has been reporting on required financial disclosures rental income from a family real estate company – but the company ceased operations in 2006.
By itself, the disclosure could be chalked up as an inadvertent error. The original company, named Ginger, Ltd., Partnership, was taken over by a similarly named company, Ginger Holdings, LLC.
Here’s what you need to know.
Clarence Thomas reported $270,000 to $750,000 from now-defunct company
The original company, a Nebraska real estate firm named Ginger, Ltd., Partnership, was created in the 1980s and shut down in 2006. In its place, a new company, Ginger Holdings, LLC, was created and assumed control of the previous company, according to The Post.
On Thomas’ recent annual disclosure forms, the Supreme Court justice reported income of between $50,000 and $100,000 from Ginger, Ltd., Partnership, the older, now-defunct company, The Post reported. The forms make no mention of the newer company, Ginger Holdings, LLC.
Since 2006, according to The Post, Thomas reported receiving $270,000 to $750,000 from the older company, where it was described on his forms as “rent.”
Related: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says he wasn’t required to report trips with GOP donor
Thomas under scrutiny over relationship with GOP megadonor
Thomas’ financial disclosures entered the national spotlight again this month after ProPublica reported that he accepted multiple luxury vacations from Harlan Crow, a billionaire real estate magnate and GOP megadonor.
Along with his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the two went on multiple vacations funded by Crow over the past two decades, including trips on his superyacht and stays at his private resort. Thomas did not mention the travel on his disclosure forms.
Thomas’ financial relationship with Crow went further. ProPublica also reported that Crow purchased three Georgia properties from the Supreme Court justice – transactions Thomas failed to note on his financial disclosure forms.
The ethics controversy extends to his wife,conservative advocate Ginni Thomas, who has been under scrutiny for reports about efforts to help former President Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election. Ginni Thomas led a conservative group that received almost $600,000 in anonymous donations, The Washington Post reported.
In a statement this month, Thomas acknowledged that he and his wife joined Crow on a number of “family trips” during the more than a quarter century they have known them. He described the couple as “among our dearest friends.”
“Early in my tenure at the court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable,” Thomas said.
He has not responded to requests about the subsequent revelations.
Contributing: John Fritze
