CNN’s Elie Honig Shreds Clarence Thomas Over New Report Showing He Took At Least 38 Luxury Vacations Funded By Billionaires: ‘Unheard Of’
CNN legal analyst Elie Honig went after Clarence Thomas over the new reporting that the Supreme Court justice’s patronage from wealthy benefactors is bigger than what was previously known.
Thomas has been under public scrutiny for months, ever since ProPublica broke the story on the undisclosed luxury vacations, gifts, and other generous perks he has received from Republican donor and real estate developer Harlan Crow. ProPublica has released a new report on Thursday, outlining how Thomas took undisclosed gifts from three other billionaires besides Crow, and it lists just how much high-rolling he did on their dime.
From ProPublica:
Like clockwork, Thomas’ leisure activities have been underwritten by benefactors who share the ideology that drives his jurisprudence. Their gifts include:
At least 38 destination vacations, including a previously unreported voyage on a yacht around the Bahamas; 26 private jet flights, plus an additional eight by helicopter; a dozen VIP passes to professional and college sporting events, typically perched in the skybox; two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica; and one standing invitation to an uber-exclusive golf club overlooking the Atlantic coast.
Honig was on CNN This Morning to break down the report in a discussion with Brett Murphy, one of the report’s co-authors. As the panel spoke about how the report contradicts Thomas’ modest self-image, Honig dove into the “appearance of impropriety” from the fact that none of this had been disclosed before.
How does Clarence Thomas think the world actually works? We all have friends. Do any of your friends pay for your private vacations? It’s unheard of.
The reason why this is a problem is this undermines public confidence. Rightly so. We all ask, I think logically, why on Earth are these guys spending millions of dollars, why is he accepting this, why isn’t he reporting it? And when you see these polls that show that the American peoples’ confidence is at an all-time low in the Supreme Court, I don’t think it is because of the judicial outcomes they are delivering… I think it’s because we’re now learning more than ever about all the money flowing through here and all the lack of disclosure and transparency.
The discussion went on as Honig teamed up with Astead Herndon to critique the lack of accountability for the Supreme Court, and the court’s resistance to more oversight.
Watch above via CNN.
