Senate Judiciary Committee drops investigation into businessman friend of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after he provides proof of additional trips with the judge

The Senate Judiciary Committee agreed to drop its investigation into Harlan Crow in exchange for information on additional trips he provided to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the Washington Examiner reported. The Texas real estate mogul was subpoenaed as part of an ethics investigation.

Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin had requested documents from Thomas' longtime friend after the justice failed to disclose three trips with the GOP donor. Crow provided seven years' worth of information to the committee.

This satisfied Drubin, who is pursuing an ethics investigation into Supreme Court justices. "As a result of our investigation and subpoena authorization, we are providing the American public greater clarity on the extent of ethical lapses by Supreme Court justices and the need for ethics reform," the Illinois Democrat said in a statement.

The records show that Thomas accompanied Crow on a private jet in 2021, 2019, and 2017. The justice failed to disclose these flights, though it's unclear if it was required at the time.

Serious Concerns About the Committee

Despite complying with the request from the Committee, Crow made it clear that he did not agree with the undertaking. The wealthy GOP donor explained his reluctance through a spokesman.

"Despite his serious and continued concerns about the legality and necessity of the inquiry, Mr. Crow engaged in good faith negotiations with the Committee from the beginning to resolve the matter. As a condition of this agreement, the Committee agreed to end its probe with respect to Mr. Crow," the spokesperson explained.

Thomas' attorney, Elliot S. Berke, similarly brought up concerns about the premise of the ethics investigation. "The information that Harlan Crow provided to the Senate Judiciary Committee fell under the ‘personal hospitality exemption’ and was not required to be disclosed by Justice Thomas," Berke pointed out.

"The Judicial Conference changed this provision last year, and Justice Thomas has fully complied with the new disclosure requirement," he added. "Prior to this change, the provision, set forth in the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts’ Guide to Judiciary Policy, stated that federal judges should not report gifts of personal hospitality based on personal relationships," Berke said.

"Consequently, and as Justice Thomas has already explained, he and many other federal judges were advised that they were not required to report gifts of personal hospitality from friends who did not have business before the Court." It's becoming increasingly clear that this is a trap to ensure the right-leaning justice.

Packing the Court

The left has made no bones about using the so-called "ethics scandals" to their advantage. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she wants to "#ExpandTheCourt, pass a code of ethics, and save our democracy."

The left has been pushing to pack the court with more justices to change the current 6-3 balance in favor of conservative justices like Thomas. Their solution is to allow for a Democratic president to appoint more judges.

"We have to expand the court to create balance and fairness. We need a binding, enforceable code of ethics to ensure accountability," Pressley claimed.

"We need investigations into Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Brett Kavanaugh, and any others with a record of impropriety on the highest court in our nation," she added. Pressley isn't even pretending to be impartial.

If a justice takes trips and other enticements in exchange for a particular case outcome, that's clearly an ethics violation. However, there's no evidence that's happened in this case, and the only thing Thomas is guilty of is being a right-leaning judge.