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Clarence Thomas is reportedly updating his financial forms amid the fallout of the bombshell report that accused the Supreme Court justice of failing to disclose lavish trips and real estate deals involving a GOP megadonor.
According to CNN, Thomas intends to include a 2014 deal where he sold properties in Georgia to Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire and Republican megadonor, in amended financial disclosure forms.
The real estate transaction was first reported by ProPublica last week. Three properties, including a home and two vacant lots, were reportedly sold to Crow for $133,363. Thomas' mother still resides in one of the properties, which contractors later made improvements to, according to the report. A provision in the justice's deal with Crow reportedly allows his mother to live rent-free at the property for the rest of her life, though she pays property taxes and insurance.
In a statement last week, Crow said he bought the properties at "market rate" to “create a public museum at the Thomas home” dedicated to the justice. Crow still owns the home but has sold the vacant lots.
According to a CNN source, Thomas didn't think he needed to disclose the real estate deal because he lost money in the transaction. The exclusion was allegedly an oversight as Thomas fills out his financial documents with the help of aides, per the source.
Federal law requires the disclosure of any real estate deal, regardless of whether a profit is made, according to CNN.
Reports of Thomas amending his financial disclosure forms come after ProPublica also reported that Thomas accepted nearly 20 years of undisclosed lavish trips from Crow.
“Early in my tenure at the court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable,” Thomas said following the report.
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