Topline
GOP donor and real estate magnate Harlan Crow paid thousands of dollars in tuition for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ grandnephew, who he served as the legal guardian for, ProPublica reports—without the justice disclosing it—the latest in a series of controversies involving Thomas’ financial relationship with Crow that have sparked ethics concerns and calls for Thomas to resign.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on October 7, 2022 in Washington, DC.
Key Facts
Thomas’ teenage relative Mark Martin attended the private boarding school Hidden Lake Academy for a year in 2008, ProPublica reports, which charged tuition of approximately $6,000 per month.
Crow paid Martin’s tuition for the entire time he was at the school, ProPublica reports, citing bank statements published in court filings that show payments coming from Crow’s company with “Mark Martin” in the description.
Christopher Grimwood, a former administrator at the school, confirmed to ProPublica that “Harlan picked up the tab” and paid Martin’s tuition.
Thomas, who assumed custody of Martin when he was six years old, did not disclose the tuition payments in his financial disclosures, ProPublica notes, despite previously disclosing a $5,000 tuition payment a different friend had made years earlier.
Ethics law experts cited by ProPublica said Thomas should have disclosed the tuition payments as a gift, with former chief White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter telling the publication the payments were “way outside the norm” and “way in excess of anything I’ve seen.”
In a statement to ProPublica, Crow’s office said Thomas did not ask him to pay Martin’s tuition, adding the donor “has long been passionate about the importance of quality education and giving back to those less fortunate.”
Chief Critic
“It’s disappointing that those with partisan political interests would try to turn helping at-risk youth with tuition assistance into something nefarious or political,” Crow’s office said in a statement to ProPublica. Thomas did not respond to the publication’s inquiries, but has previously defended his financial relationship with Crow, saying Crow and his wife “are among our dearest friends” and he had been told he did not have to disclose hospitality he received from the real estate magnate like luxury trips.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/05/04/gop-megadonor-harlan-crow-paid-tuition-for-clarence-thomas-relative-report-says/