{"id":570604,"date":"2023-04-17T16:30:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-17T13:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/i-consider-clarence-thomas-a-friend-and-im-shocked-by-recent-reports\/"},"modified":"2023-04-17T16:30:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T13:30:00","slug":"i-consider-clarence-thomas-a-friend-and-im-shocked-by-recent-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-consider-clarence-thomas-a-friend-and-im-shocked-by-recent-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"#I consider Clarence Thomas a friend, and I\u2019m shocked by recent reports"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/15d8445b571240599222f228f55c533d.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Oh, come on! Where\u2019s the evidence that Justice Clarence Thomas is corrupt? Show me proof of him selling his vote on the Supreme Court!<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, it is not that simple.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The real problem is that none of us can ever again get away from wondering.<\/p>\n<p>The smell of financial corruption around Thomas is now stronger than the longstanding fear that his votes on the high court are dictated by his hatred of the liberals who put him through painful nomination hearing dominated by Anita Hill\u2019s charges of sexual harassment.<\/p>\n<p>The smell of financial favors is also now stronger than puzzlement about Thomas\u2019s unyielding loyalty to a hardline Republican agenda that made former President Trump call Thomas his favorite justice.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas\u2019s one-sided rulings on guns, abortion and race have long provoked critics who suggest he is motivated by something other than the facts, legal precedent, and fair <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lication of a 236-year-old Constitution to life in contemporary America.<\/p>\n<p>During his 31 years on the court, Thomas\u2019s rulings stand outside of mainstream public opinion and certainly black public opinion. He is also apart from prior decisions by conservative Supreme Court justices.<\/p>\n<p>But Thomas\u2019s rulings have been in line with a rich, reclusive Republican donor, who ingratiated himself to Thomas by <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus\">purchasing property from the justice<\/a>, by giving him <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow\">free travel<\/a> on private jets and <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow\">ritzy vacations on private yachts<\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>That patron, Harlan Crow, also <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/2023\/04\/07\/clarence-thomas-trips-crow-propublica\/\">financed a documentary<\/a> about Thomas. And before that, he gave the justice <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/06\/19\/us\/politics\/19thomas.html\">a Bible once owned by Frederick Douglass<\/a> and served as trustee of a think tank that gave Thomas <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2011\/06\/19\/us\/politics\/19thomas.html\">a bust of President Lincoln<\/a> \u2014 items worth <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/04\/11\/us\/politics\/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow.html\">more than $30,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>And last week it was reported that Crow also purchased private property from Justice Thomas \u2014 <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/clarence-thomas-harlan-crow-real-estate-scotus\">without Thomas reporting the transaction<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All the while, Crow\u2019s generosity effectively fenced Thomas into surrounding himself with people pushing an extreme conservative legal agenda. Those people included the head of the right-wing Federalist Society, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow\">Leonard Leo<\/a>. Crow was a major supporter of Leo\u2019s group.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Yet Thomas never reported the gilded <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/trip-and-travel\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"10\" title=\"Trip &amp; Travel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> or the property purchases. He dismissed this shower of golden tributes as \u201cpersonal hospitality from close personal friends.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And he failed to appreciate the limiting influence on his thinking that came from allowing himself to be <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow\">surrounded by far-right players<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> of his hidden financial deals now overwhelms questions about his judicial rulings.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>The apparent lack of transparency by Thomas, the senior member of the current Supreme Court, falls deep into the smoky realm of conspiracy theories that lead people to conclude that elites led by super-rich, inside players control all of government, including justices with lifetime tenure on the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>So far, Thomas has avoided being punished for bringing disgrace on himself.<\/p>\n<p>An even bigger issue is whether he will go unpunished for harming the reputation of the court, a pillar of American life, the basis of our claim to be a nation of laws, not men.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>There is no sign that Chief Justice John Roberts is going to step up to the damage being done to the court by Thomas\u2019s lack of accountability.<\/p>\n<p>Republican political leaders in Congress also prefer to turn their eyes away from Thomas\u2019s bad behavior. Their comments are limited to castigating reporters, attacking them as liberals out to get a conservative justice.<\/p>\n<p>But the facts now show Thomas has damaged the court.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>It doesn\u2019t matter if you are conservative or liberal. We can all agree Democracy does not work when the Supreme Court becomes a gated community, limited to the opinions of rich people and their powerful minions.<\/p>\n<p>It is difficult for me to see Thomas in this light.<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve known him for 40 years \u2014 and for most of that time, during which I wrote news columns and magazine stories about him, we also became friends. He has always been gracious to my children, as a guest in my home and even at my birthday party.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>To hear some tell it, a column I wrote about Thomas for The Washington Post in 1981 brought him to the attention of Republican power players in the Reagan administration and ultimately led President George H.W. Bush to appoint him to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n<p>As two black men who came of age after the Civil Rights Movement, I remain fascinated by Justice Thomas\u2019s rise from rural poverty in tiny Pin Point, Ga., to the position he now holds as the most powerful black man in the federal government.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He is a man who can recite Malcolm X by heart and expresses black nationalist positions on the depth of black self-sufficiency when liberated from interference by white racism and white do-gooders.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why, to me, Justice Thomas has always represented the best ideals of what black men \u2014 like the two of us \u2014 could achieve in modern America with hard work and thick skin.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But if these recent stories are true about how he allowed himself to become captive of a far-right legal coterie, he must be sanctioned for the sake of the court\u2019s reputation and, yes, for the good of the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There is an old Latin saying that translates into English as \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/corruptio%20optimi%20pessima\">Corruption of the best is worst of all<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how I feel about my old friend.<\/p>\n<p><em>Juan Williams is an\u00a0author,\u00a0and a political analyst for Fox News Channel.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Media<\/a> Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/columnists\/3954416-i-consider-clarence-thomas-a-friend-and-im-shocked-by-recent-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oh, come on! Where\u2019s the evidence that Justice Clarence Thomas is corrupt? Show me proof of him selling his vote on the Supreme Court! Unfortunately, it is not that simple. The real problem is that none of us can ever again get away from wondering. The smell of financial corruption around Thomas is now stronger&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":570605,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/15d8445b571240599222f228f55c533d.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[76737,134343,110758,142501,70673,73798,114354,142502,79548,142262,142503,74480,124783,87287,142504,142505,142506,40445,90599,142507,71226,142508,5019,134345,142509,135140,4965,71471,72122],"class_list":["post-570604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-transparency","tag-campaign","tag-clarence-thomas","tag-conservative-justices","tag-corruption","tag-defense","tag-disclosure","tag-financial-disclosures","tag-gifts","tag-harlan-crow","tag-influence","tag-influencers","tag-international","tag-john-roberts","tag-judicial-ethics","tag-judicial-independence","tag-judicial-influence","tag-media","tag-private-jets","tag-public-opinion","tag-real-estate","tag-republican-donor","tag-space","tag-state-watch","tag-supreme-court-code-of-ethics","tag-supreme-court-of-the-united-states","tag-technology","tag-travel","tag-vacations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=570604"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/570604\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/570605"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=570604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=570604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=570604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}