Why Hasn't Clarence Thomas Resigned?

 How much more scandal and corruption do we have to endure before the Supreme Court is ashamed enough to force Clarence Thomas to resign?

Last year, I outlined the conflicts of interest that Clarence Thomas faced, due to the shennanigans of his wife Ginni Thomas.  Her role as a right-wing activist and a lawyer for a political lobbying firm secured victories for her allies in a number of highly polarizing cases—on abortion, affirmative action, and gun rights.  

Then came reports last week that Thomas accepted luxury trips virtually every single year from from billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, including international travel on his private jet and yacht and annual retreats at his plush Adirondacks resort. 

Last Friday, we learned that Nazi-lover Harlan Crow purchased Thomas’ ancestral home in Georgia where his mother still resides from him for an inflated price, ProPublica reported. While Thomas had listed his interest in the home on his financial reports in the past, he did not disclose the sale to Crow as required by law. It is unclear why a complete stranger to Clarence Thomas would buy his mother's residence, but the fact that Crow invested further into the property-- and bought surrounding parcels to improve it-- leave raise serious additional ethics questions.

“He needed to report his interest in the sale,” Virginia Canter, a former government ethics lawyer now at the watchdog group CREW told ProPublica.  “Given the role Crow has played in subsidizing the lifestyle of Thomas and his wife, you have to wonder if this was an effort to put cash in their pockets.” There’s no denying that the sale put cash in Thomas’ pocket. There’s also no denying that it’s keeping cash in the Thomases' pockets; Crow has paid the property taxes on the house Thomas’s mother Leoloa Williams is still living in, about $1,500 annually according to county tax records viewed by ProPublica, since the sale. Clarence and Ginni Thomas previously paid those taxes.

The $133,363 Crow paid for the Thomas properties appears to be well above fair market value for property on that street at the time, and well above what Thomas valued the at.   Judiciary member Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, suggested, “It would be best for the Chief Justice to commence a proper investigation, but after a week of silence from the Court and this latest disturbing reporting, I’m urging the Judicial Conference to step in and refer Justice Thomas to the Attorney General for investigation.”

Now there is new reporting that Thomas and his spouse have collected up to $750,000 in income from a company that hasn't existed since 2006.  Thomas has refused to publicly comment on why he would try and report income from a ghost company (no surprise, given the rarely talks during the High Court's oral arguments)-- but it raises questions whether he is doing so to hide income from other unethical (or criminal) sources.  While there may be plausible explanations for this latest lapse in judgment, there's no plausible way that Clarence Thomas can claim that he believed a real estate transaction in which notorious Republican political activist Crow purchased property from him didn't require legal disclosure.

It's quite obvious Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has contempt for the whole notion of filing the required financial disclosures, and that despite being among the most powerful figures in all the nation, he apparently has neither the mental fortitude nor enough legal assistance to fill out government paperwork.  If his day job is keeping him so busy that he can't take the time to follow the law, maybe we should relieve him of that burden.