A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (or in 1969, if you prefer), Supreme Court Justice Abe Fortas was caught up in a scandal that forced him to resign. Apparently, he received a measly $15K “payment” from a foundation run by a shady businessman. The money was scandalous enough to irk the Republicans… Oops, sorry, I meant the Senate controlled House. Fortas insisted he had done nothing wrong, but he stepped down, explaining to his buddy Earl Warren, “You know, the Supreme Court’s got to look good, so I guess I’ll bounce.”

Now, let’s talk about Justice Thomas. His conduct is like Fortas’s, but on steroids. ProPublica reported that Thomas and his wife went on a nine-day “island hopping” trip, complete with a 162-foot superyacht. If Thomas had paid for it himself, it would have cost over $500,000. Talk about living large! But oops, he forgot to mention it on his financial disclosure forms. Ethics experts say that might be a teensy bit illegal. (Thomas issued a non-apology along the lines of “nothing to see here, folks.”)

The defenses for Justice Thomas are so weak they make me giggle. It was just “personal hospitality” between friends? Sure, Jan. That’s like saying a home-cooked meal is the same as a trip around the world on a billionaire’s dime. And about that friendship: ProPublica reports that Thomas’s buddy, real estate tycoon Harlan Crow, only became chummy with him after he became a justice. It makes me wonder if the friendship (and the island-hopping) would last if Thomas started voting like Justice Sotomayor.

As it turns out, neither Mr. Crow nor his firm has had a case before the Supreme Court since Justice Thomas joined. But it’s no secret that Thomas and his conservative pals have been busy whipping up rulings that make billionaires like Crow happy. They’ve been striking down campaign finance limits and making it harder for workers to unionize. Plus, Crow is on the board of the very interested-in-cases conservative American Enterprise Institute. Honestly, this whole thing is almost as funny as it is outrageous./n/n Serious news: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/11/opinion/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-abe-fortas.html