Clarence Thomas Biographer Defends Supreme Court Justice Not Disclosing Harlan Crow Tuition Payment
A friend and biographer of Justice Clarence Thomas went to bat for him again over the latest news surrounding his benefactor, Republican donor and real estate developer Harlan Crow.
In the fallout from ProPublica’s reporting on the undisclosed gifts, luxury vacations, and financial backing that Thomas received from Crow over the years, the justice has been defended by Mark Paoletta, former general counsel of the Office of Management and Budget during the Trump administration. Paoletta has rejected ethical concerns about Thomas as a concocted left-wing outrage, even though he was recently mocked for not revealing he went on some of those same vacations with Thomas and Crow.
ProPublica released a new report on Thursday that said Crow paid the tuition for Thomas’ great nephew to attend a private boarding school that charges $6,000 a month. ProPublica’s sources also said that Crow paid for the boy to attend the boarding school he previously attended as well.
While the story breathes new life into questions about Crow’s financial influence over Thomas’ family, Paoletta argued that Crow’s tuition payment didn’t have to be reported. He based this argument by pointing out that the Ethics in Government Act’s definition of a “dependent child” does not include great nephews.
Paoletta also released a lengthy statement on Twitter, accusing Thomas’ critics of attempting to “manufacture” political ammunition out of his efforts to raise his great nephew with Crow’s support.
Harlan Crow’s tuition payments made directly to these schools on behalf of Justice Thomas’s great nephew did not constitute a reportable gift. Justice Thomas was not required to disclose the tuition payments made directly to Randolph Macon and the Georgia school on behalf of his great nephew because the definition of a “dependent child” under the Ethics in Government Act (5 U.S.C. 13101 (2)) does not include a “great nephew.” It is limited to a “son, daughter, stepson or stepdaughter.” Justice Thomas never asked Harlan Crow to pay for his great nephew’s tuition. And neither Harlan Crow, nor his company, had any business before the Supreme Court.
This malicious story shows nothing except for the fact that the Thomases and the Crows are kind, generous, and loving people who tried to help this young man.
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