Judicial record undermines Clarence Thomas defence in luxury gifts scandal

Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow was linked to a conservative group that had court business while Thomas was on the bench

Earlier this month, the supreme court justice Clarence Thomas put out a statement in which he addressed the storm of criticism that has engulfed him following the blockbuster ProPublica report that revealed his failure to disclose lavish gifts of luxury vacations and private-jet travel from a Texan real estate magnate.

Thomas confirmed that the Dallas billionaire and Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow and his wife Kathy were among our dearest friends". Thomas admitted, too, that he and his wife Ginni had joined them on a number of family trips during the more-than-a-quarter-century we have known them".