Congressman Dan Goldman Joins Oversight Democrats to Urge Chairman Comer to Investigate Justice Clarence Thomas’ Failure to Disclose $267,230 Gift from Wealthy Businessman

Democrats Push for Bipartisan Investigation After Multiple Reports of Conservative Justices Receiving Lavish Undisclosed Gifts from Individuals with Business before the Court

Read the Letter Here

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dan Goldman (NY-10) yesterday joined Oversight Committee Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (MD-08) in calling on Chairman James Comer to investigate U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after recent revelations that he failed to disclose a $267,230 loan he was given by a health care executive, who then forgave the debt in 2008 in what amounts to an undisclosed gift from interests with business before the Court. The letter follows Oversight Committee Democrats raising concerns about undisclosed gifts received by Supreme Court Justice Thomas at a hearing earlier this Fall and Committee Republicans instead opting to use the Committee’s power to pursue political vendettas.

“Given Oversight Committee Republicans’ recent interest in two loans Joe Biden made to his brother when both were private citizens, in July 2017 and January 2018, each of which his brother repaid less than seven weeks later, we know of your intense interest in the field.  We can only assume and trust that you will be opening an investigation into the disclosure that a sitting Supreme Court Justice received a $267,230 loan from a wealthy businessman that was never repaid and never disclosed in ethics filings,” wrote the Members.

Public reporting and a recent Senate Committee on Finance memorandum have revealed that Justice Thomas received a previously undisclosed loan of $267,230 from Anthony Welters, a health care executive and close friend, in order to purchase a luxury motorcoach. Records reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee show that in 2008, “Anthony Welters forgave a substantial amount, or even all of the principal balance of his loan to Clarence Thomas, constituting of the forgiveness of approximately $267,230.00 of debt owed by Justice Thomas.” Forgiveness of this debt would have generated a significant amount of taxable income for Justice Thomas, which must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Justice Thomas never disclosed the existence of this loan or the forgiveness of the $267,230 debt.

This comes as additional public reporting revealed that members of the Supreme Court, including Justice Thomas, have, for years, failed to disclose lavish gifts they received from wealthy individuals with business before the Supreme Court.

In the letter, Oversight Democrats call for an investigation into the ethics crisis in the Supreme Court, as getting all the facts will allow Congress to craft bipartisan legislation to ensure public faith in the highest Court of the land through true accountability and public transparency.

“Shortly before the start of this Congress, you penned an op-ed promising that during your tenure leading the Oversight Committee you would ‘conduct serious investigations and propose real reforms.’ Surely nothing is more serious than ensuring the integrity of the Supreme Court and the people who serve lifetime appointments on it. This latest revelation that Justice Thomas pocketed a loan of over $200,000 from a wealthy businessman, which he did not fully pay back and never reported, is yet further proof of the urgent need for thorough and careful investigation into the failure of the pathetic ethics process at the Supreme Court where each justice decides for himself or herself whether they are behaving ethically,” the Members concluded.

Read the letter here or below.

Dear Chairman Comer:

We write with great concern about the escalating ethics crisis at the United States Supreme Court.  Specifically, we request that you initiate an investigation into United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s apparent failure to report a loan converted into a cash gift of over $200,000 from a wealthy businessman, a huge payment which was used to purchase a luxury Prevost Marathon motor coach equipped with a kitchen, a bathroom, plush leather seating, and a “bedroom in the back,” according to the New York Times.

When Oversight Committee Democrats raised concerns about undisclosed gifts received by Supreme Court Justice Thomas at a hearing earlier this fall and demanded the Committee investigate the crisis of ethics in our highest court, Republicans remained silent. Since then, the situation has only grown worse in the face of your passivity.

Public reporting and an October 25, 2023, Senate Committee on Finance memorandum have revealed that Justice Thomas received a previously undisclosed loan of $267,230 from Anthony Welters, a health care executive and close friend, to purchase his luxury motorcoach, which had an “orange flame motif” and “a large Pegasus painted on the back,” according to New York Times reportage, in 1999. Records reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee show that in 2008, “Anthony Welters forgave a substantial amount, or even all of the principal balance of his loan to Clarence Thomas, constituting of the forgiveness of approximately $267,230.00 of debt owed by Justice Thomas.”

This is astounding.

Justice Thomas never disclosed the existence of this loan or the forgiveness of the $267,230 debt. The failure to disclose this payment is shocking and especially troubling in light of reporting that Justice Thomas repeatedly insisted that he “scrimped and saved to afford the motor coach.”  The episode raises significant tax issues, given that under the Tax Code, as you know, Justice Thomas would have been required to report any debt forgiven as realized income on his personal income tax returns.

Given Oversight Committee Republicans’ recent interest in two loans Joe Biden made to his brother when both were private citizens, in July 2017 and January 2018, each of which his brother repaid less than seven weeks later, we know of your intense interest in the field.

We can only assume and trust that you will be opening an investigation into the disclosure that a sitting Supreme Court Justice received a $267,230 loan from a wealthy businessman that was never disclosed under ethics requirements and then never repaid and then never reported as a tax event. 

Until now, you and your Republican colleagues have shown no interest in examining the crisis of ethics at the Supreme Court.  Indeed, while Democrats, both in the House and the Senate, are pressing for investigation and reform, you have instead opted to use the Committee’s power to obstruct others’ investigation into these issues.

In the past few months, public reporting has revealed that members of the Supreme Court, including Justice Thomas, have, for years, failed to disclose lavish gifts from wealthy individuals with business before the Supreme Court.  This extensive history of Supreme Court justices receiving expensive personal gifts from jurisprudential sugar daddies and failing to disclose them raises profound suspicions among the American people—our bosses—about quid pro quo arrangements and rampant influence peddling in the nation’s highest court.  For example, during his tenure on the Court, Justice Thomas has received hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of gifts, including flights on private jets, luxury vacations, and private boarding school tuition payments for family members from conservative megadonor Harlan Crow, who has also bankrolled right-wing advocacy organizations with business directly before the Court. For his part, Justice Samuel Alito never reported that in 2008 he received a free trip on a private jet to attend a luxury Alaskan fishing expedition, from Paul Singer, a hedge fund manager with multiple matters before the Supreme Court that Justice Alito repeatedly refused to recuse himself from deciding.

Shortly before the start of this Congress, you penned an op-ed promising that during your tenure leading the Oversight Committee you would “conduct serious investigations and propose real reforms.” Surely nothing is more serious than ensuring the integrity of the Supreme Court and the people who serve lifetime appointments on it.  This latest revelation that Justice Thomas pocketed a loan of over $200,000 from a wealthy businessman, which he did not fully pay back and never reported, is yet further proof of the urgent need for thorough and careful investigation into the failure of the pathetic ethics process at the Supreme Court where each justice decides for himself or herself whether they are behaving ethically.  Getting all the facts will allow us to work together in crafting thoughtful legislation to ensure public faith in the Supreme Court through true accountability and public transparency.

###