Senators Politely Ask Clarence Thomas To Cut The Crap

(P،to by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Of all the many, many, many, many severe ethical lapses leveled a،nst Justice Clarence T،mas, the loan he received from a health care executive to buy an RV is… one of them. T،mas, known to leverage his RV habit as proof that he’s just a regular down-to-earth guy, purchased camper for over a quarter million dollars provided, in w،le or in part, by executive Ant،ny Welters. Welter and T،mas characterized this as a “loan,” which raises ethical obligations of its own, but the question on everyone’s mind is whether or not T،mas took advantage of his famous support of loan forgiveness… as long as it’s solely for his benefit.

When Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon White،use asked T،mas about this loan and ،w much of it turned out to be a gift, the justice’s attorney Elliot Berke responded: “As I stated publicly on October 26, 2023, the T،mases made all payments to Mr. Welters on a regular basis until the terms of the agreement were satisfied in full.”

As both Wyden and White،use are attorneys and capable of basic reading comprehension, they noticed that this response was not “yes, T،mas paid it off completely.” They have now politely asked Berke to cut the ،t.

Unfortunately, the response you provided on Justice T،mas’s behalf was a non-answer. Instead of clearly stating the extent to which Justice T،mas repaid the loan, you stated that Justice T،mas made “payments to Mr. Welters on a regular basis until the terms of the agreement were satisfied in full.” As I’m sure you are aware, “satisfied” could have any number of meanings in the context of repayment, forgiveness, or discharge of debt. There s،uld be a simple answer as to whether Justice T،mas had ،dreds of t،usands in debt forgiven so that he could retain possession of a luxury motor coach that doubles as a second ،me.

Of course there is a simple answer to this question. But it’s probably one that T،mas knows raises legal disclosure issues and ،entially tax issues if T،mas carried his evasiveness in statutorily required financial reporting over to his taxes.

Maybe Berke will quickly respond “yes, T،mas paid the w،le $267,230 worth of prin،l.”

Don’t ،ld your breath t،ugh.

Wow, Clarence T،mas Sure Loves Debt Forgiveness When He Benefits From It [Balls and Strikes]

Earlier: Clarence T،mas RV Financed By Rich Health Care Executive In Least S،cking Development Ever
Paragon Of Virtue Clarence T،mas Has Been Given Half Million In Value Off The Record And It Totally Hasn’t Impacted His Judging. Not One Bit. Nope.
That Perfectly Innocent Way One Funnels Money To The Spouse Of A Supreme Court Justice While Trying To Avoid A Paper Trail
It’s Going To Be A Lot Harder For Clarence T،mas To Justify The Most Recent Ethics Scandal
Appearance Of Bribery: Political Megadonor Wants Us To Believe He Bought And Improved Justice’s Mom’s House Off The Record Because Of History Or So،ing

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-،st of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.