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Look, Clarence Thomas might have wealthy benefactors lavishing him with hundreds of thousands in undisclosed gifts, and paying private school tuition on his behalf, and providing his mother rent-free housing, and funneling money from a right-wing advocacy group to his wife under the table, but Clarence Thomas is still a simple man of the people. I mean… he’s an RV guy! That’s as American as Coca-Cola! Just a regular guy who wants to hit the open road in the RV he bought for himself! And by “bought for himself,” we mean “took an undisclosed loan from a health care executive.”
It’s just like a Horatio Alger story, except instead of a Protestant work ethic and impenetrable plot armor, Ragged Dick leveraged an influential government office and the largesse of fawning wealthy supporters.
Which kind of is the whole point of the modern Horatio Alger Society… where Thomas is a member.
Tired of being routinely scooped by Pro Publica, the New York Times thought to itself, if rich benefactors financed every other part of his life behind the scenes, why not his RV?
Turns out his claim that he’s a simple man of the KOA is DOA.
The Times looked at Title records on the RV and discovered that the vehicle — purchased while Thomas sat on the Supreme Court — was in whole or in part financed by health care executive Anthony Welters. It will shock you not at all to learn that this was not disclosed and the terms remain entirely opaque.
“Here is what I can share. Twenty-five years ago, I loaned a friend money, as I have other friends and family. We’ve all been on one side or the other of that equation. He used it to buy a recreational vehicle, which is a passion of his,” Welters told the Times in a statement.
No… this is what you chose to share. Just because he worked in health care does not make these health care records. Welters could share whatever he wants, but he’s making the affirmative choice to remain vague, noting only that “the loan was satisfied” which is pointedly not “paid off” like normal people would say in a normal conversation.
“We’ve all been on one side or the other of that equation,” may be true, but covering your roommate’s rent until his paycheck clears is a little different than gifting someone upwards of $200K for a “passion.” I mean… $200K is like “minor health care procedure” money!
Not that it should matter if the justice did eventually pay it off in full. Having money at the right time can be as much — or more — of a gift and give rise to as great a sense of obligation as having the money free and clear.
Welters calls Thomas a friend and there’s nothing wrong with loaning money to a friend. But when that friend is a prominent government official making existential rulings about the lender’s industry, it should be disclosed at the very, very, very least.
And once again, expect Thomas to invoke the “personal hospitality” exception to his reporting obligations, using the provision designed to let officials avoid reporting every dinner party as a loophole to cover anything rich people might want to give as long as they’re called “friends.”
But the way Thomas uses the “personal hospitality” exception is starting to sound like the guy who protests, “I’m just a social drinker who happens to have a lot of friends.” At a certain point they’re not friends… just an excuse to get drunk.
Clarence Thomas’s $267,230 R.V. and the Friend Who Financed It [NY Times]
Wealthy Exec Funded Clarence Thomas’ Cherished $270K R.V.: Report [Daily Beast]
Earlier: Paragon Of Virtue Clarence Thomas 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 Thomas 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 Something
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host 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.
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