Connect with us

News

Clarence Thomas’ Billionaire Benefactor to Democratic Senators Asking for Receipts: No

Published

on

Billionaire businessman and conservative megadonor Harlan Crow, who for more than two decades has funded almost annual luxury, all-expenses-paid vacations, travel, lodging, food, and even clothing for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and at times, his far-right extremist and activist wife Ginni Thomas, purchased his mother’s house and paid the tuition of their ward and grandnephew, just refused to provide the U.S. Senate Finance Committee with some very basic information it requested last week.

Pointing to bombshell investigations from ProPublica, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden requested a full accounting of all the gifts Crow has lavished on Clarence and Ginni Thomas over the past two-plus decades.

“With every new revelation in this case, it becomes clearer that Harlan Crow has been subsidizing an extravagant lifestyle that Justice Thomas and his family could not otherwise afford,” Wyden said in a statement on the Committee’s official Senate website. “This is a foul breach of ethics standards, which are already far too low when it comes to the Supreme Court. I gave Mr. Crow until May 8th to provide a full account of the gifts he provided to Justice Thomas’s family. Should he fail to comply, I will explore using other tools at the committee’s disposal to obtain this critical information.”

READ MORE: ‘Weren’t in a Fraternity Together’: Harlan Crow’s Relationship With Clarence Thomas Based on ‘Cozying Up’ Says Fallon

Through his attorney, Harlan Crow has just refused, as CNN reports.

Gibson Dunn attorney Michael Bopp claims in a letter the Finance Committee lacks a legislative purpose to request the information, and “lacks jurisdiction” and “authority” to “conduct tax audits or judicial ethics inquiries.” He also claims a violation of the separation of powers.

(Some legal experts disagree with Bopp.)

“We of course respect the authority of the Senate Finance Committee to consider and report tax-related legislation. But that is evidently not the goal of this attempt to tarnish the reputation of a sitting Supreme Court Justice and his friend of many years, Mr. Crow,” Bopp writes. “Indeed, the Chairman’s latest statement about this inquiry, made on May 4, 2023, and available on the Committee website, speaks of ethics standards (which are not the province of the Senate Finance Committee) and makes no mention of gift tax laws.”

READ MORE: ‘Could Shoot Somebody on Fifth Avenue’: Clarence Thomas’ Corruption Is Indefensible. Here’s Who’s Defending Him.

“The Letter also suggests that certain real estate transactions may raise gift tax issues,” Bopp adds. “Mr. Crow’s purchase of property in Savannah, Georgia (through his LLC) complied with federal and state gift tax laws.”

He offers what he suggests are the terms of the deal in which Crow bought Clarence Thomas’ mother’s house, where she continues to live rent free.

“Contrary to news reporting, as part of the overall transaction to purchase Justice Thomas’s mother’s home and two lots, Mr. Crow’s LLC provided a lifetime occupancy agreement for his mother, Mrs. Leola Williams, who was 84 years old at the time of the sale,” Bopp writes. He says the sale would not have gone through without the “lifetime occupancy agreement.”

Eric Seagall, a Georgia State University law professor and author of a book on the Supreme Court, offered this observation Tuesday: “Crow’s law firm Gibson, Dunn who successfully argued Bush v Gore while [Ginni Thomas] was getting jobs for Heritage [Foundation] folks in the not yet elected Bush Administration and where Scalia’s son works. The world is small (disclaimer I once worked for Gibson Dunn).”

On Monday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin also requested a similar list from Harlan Crow, including “all gifts, payments, and items of value exceeding $415 given by you, or by entities you own or control,” and “all real estate transactions in which you, or any entity you own or control…conducted with a Justice of the Supreme Court or a member of the Justice’s family.”

No word yet on a response to that letter.

 

There's a reason 10,000 people subscribe to NCRM. You can get the news before it breaks just by subscribing, plus you can learn something new every day.
Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Click to comment
 
 

Enjoy this piece?

… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.

NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.

Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.

News

NYC Officials to Defy Trump Admin Over Pride Flag Removal From Stonewall National Monument

Published

8 hours ago

on

February 10, 2026

By

New York City officials plan to defy the Trump administration after the National Park Service removed the iconic LGBTQ pride flag from the historic Stonewall National Monument, following guidance from the Trump administration. Many consider the Greenwich Village landmark to be the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement, and the backlash to the removal was swift.

Some officials vowed earlier to re-raise the flag on federal property. Those who do so are “setting up a potential fight with the White House,” according to Politico.

Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal told Politico that he and other NYC-area officials will re-raise the flag on Thursday.

“I think it’s important that we speak out and stand up for the community, frankly, just as our forebearers, who exhibited much more courage back in 1969,” Hoylman-Sigal said.

READ MORE: White House Shuts Down Briefing After Declaring Lutnick ‘Very Important’ to Trump’s Team

“This is not a moment for our community to stand by idly as attempts to undermine our history are put forward by Trump and the federal administration,” he added, calling it “another outrage by the Trump administration directed at the LGBTQ community, whether it’s transgender youth or immigrants or queer people in general.”

It’s unknown which other officials plan to be present on Thursday.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul told The Recount, “I believe in peaceful resistance, because we’re not going to be subjugated to someone who thinks he’s a king — and you cannot diminish or undermine an important community to all of us.”

“I’ll do whatever I can,” she added, “if I have to go out there and put my own flag right back up.”

New York City Mayor Kwame Mamdani wrote, “I am outraged by the removal of the Rainbow Pride Flag from Stonewall National Monument. New York is the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, and no act of erasure will ever change, or silence, that history. Our city has a duty not just to honor this legacy, but to live up to it. I will always fight for a New York City that invests in our LGBTQ+ community, defends their dignity, and protects every one of our neighbors—without exception.”

Human Rights Campaign national press secretary Brandon Wolf told CBS News, “Bad news for the Trump administration: these colors don’t run.”

READ MORE: Carville Predicts Trump Will Get a Complete and Total ‘Whipping’

“The Stonewall Inn & Visitors Centers are still privately owned, their flags are still flying high, and that community is still just as queer today as it was yesterday. While their policy agenda throws the country into chaos, the Trump administration is obsessed with trying to suffocate the joy and pride that Americans have for their communities,” Wolf said.

“For over a year, they’ve been on a witch hunt, targeting rainbow crosswalks, pride flags, Black Lives Matter murals, and throwing a tantrum about a Super Bowl performance they couldn’t control. But they will fail. We will keep showing up at Stonewall, for each other, and being out and proud. There’s nothing the White House can do about that,” he added.

READ MORE: Fascism Expert Warns Trump Could Invoke Emergency Powers to Cancel the Election

 

Image via Shutterstock

Continue Reading

News

White House Shuts Down Briefing After Declaring Lutnick ‘Very Important’ to Trump’s Team

Published

10 hours ago

on

February 10, 2026

By

After Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick told senators on Capitol Hill that he took his family for lunch to the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2012, the White House insisted that he remains an important part of the administration. There is bipartisan support for Lutnick to resign from the administration.

A reporter, mentioning Lutnick’s congressional testimony, reminded Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that the family lunch occurred “after he said that he had cut ties with Epstein,” and that a DOJ document “showed that he was in contact with Epstein through 2018 over messages.”

Leavitt replied, “Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the President fully supports the Secretary.”

Epstein was first convicted in 2008.

READ MORE: ‘Bullies’: Backlash as Trump Admin Pulls Pride Flag From Stonewall National Monument

Leavitt then chastised reporters for not asking questions about the White House’s recent “wins” — and then cut the press briefing short after about 20 minutes.

As The Independent reported, “rather than face follow-up questions about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein after documents released by the Justice Department — and Lutnick’s own sworn testimony to Congress — revealed how he lied about the extent of his ties to the late pedophile,” Leavitt “abruptly cut short a briefing with reporters.”

READ MORE: Carville Predicts Trump Will Get a Complete and Total ‘Whipping’

 

Image via Reuters

Continue Reading

News

‘Bullies’: Backlash as Trump Admin Pulls Pride Flag From Stonewall National Monument

Published

11 hours ago

on

February 10, 2026

By

The Trump administration has removed the LGBTQ pride flag from New York City’s historic Stonewall National Monument, which many consider to be the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ civil rights movement. In 2016, the Stonewall National Monument became the first LGBTQ site to receive a national monument designation.

The move came in response to the Trump administration’s guidance on which flags may be displayed on federal properties.

“The removal comes amid a broader federal effort to scrub LGBTQ+ history from government sites and single out transgender people, raising fears among LGBTQ+ advocates that their community faces erasure from public life,” Axios reported.

According to Gay City News, which first reported the removal, the flag was raised “at Christopher Park in 2022 — back when the Biden administration allowed the flag to go up.”

READ MORE: Carville Predicts Trump Will Get a Complete and Total ‘Whipping’

“Under government-wide guidance,” a spokesperson for the National Park Service told Gay City News, “including General Services Administration policy and Department of the Interior direction, only the US flag and other congressionally or departmentally authorized flags are flown on NPS-managed flagpoles, with limited exceptions.”

“Any changes to flag displays are made to ensure consistency with that guidance. Stonewall National Monument continues to preserve and interpret the site’s historic significance through exhibits and programs.”

Axios noted that a “January memo includes narrow exemptions for non-agency flags, such as those that ‘provide historical context’ or ‘are part of historic reenactments.'”

Vowing to raise the pride flag again, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal said, “We have confirmed that a January 21st federal order has resulted in the removal last weekend of the Pride flag at Stonewall, birthplace of the modern LGBTQ human rights movement. They cannot erase our history.”

New York State Senator Eric Bottcher wrote, “Ordering the removal of Gilbert Baker’s Pride flag from the Stonewall National Monument is a shameful attempt to rewrite history. Stonewall is where our community fought back and demanded to be seen. You cannot separate that place from the symbol that grew out of it.”

READ MORE: Trump Pushes Claim Schiff and Swalwell OK’d Leaks to ‘Overthrow’ the Government

Calling Stonewall “sacred ground,” New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin declared the flag’s removal “a deliberate and cowardly attempt to erase … history.”

“This is an attack on LGBTQ+ New Yorkers,” she added, “and we will not stand for it. Our history will not be rewritten, and our rights will not be rolled back.”

California State Senator Scott Wiener commented, “Petty & mean are the point. Like removing the rainbow crosswalk at Pulse & removing Harvey Milk’s name from the navy ship. What these bullies forget is LGBTQ people have been bullied forever & we learned how to fight back. We fought back hard at Stonewall & we’ll do it again.”

U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) called the flag’s removal “another disgusting example of the Trump Administration’s effort to erase the LGBTQ+ community. Removing the Pride flag will not make us forget the legacy of Stonewall. I fought for Stonewall to become designated as a National Monument and I will fight to see that the Pride flag is raised again.”

READ MORE: ‘Lied About His Ties’: Fury After ‘Fraud’ Lutnick Says He Took Family to Epstein Island

Image via Shutterstock

 

 

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2020 AlterNet Media.