In 2014, one of Texas billionaire Harlan Crow’s companies quietly bought several lots on a residential street in Savannah, GA.
The seller? Crow’s friend & travel companion Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 🧵👇
The seller? Crow’s friend & travel companion Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 🧵👇
2/ This transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing directly from Crow to Thomas.
Like the lavish trips Crow provided for the justice, Thomas failed to disclose the real estate deal as appears to be required by law.
propublica.org
Like the lavish trips Crow provided for the justice, Thomas failed to disclose the real estate deal as appears to be required by law.
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3/ The sale put Crow in a new position: Owner of Thomas’ elderly mother’s house. She continued to reside in the home after the deal closed.
In fact, the new owner gave a major upgrade to his well-connected tenant’s place.
In fact, the new owner gave a major upgrade to his well-connected tenant’s place.
4/ Within weeks of the sale, contractors began work on $36,000 worth of improvements on Thomas’ mother’s home, including a carport, a repaired roof & a new fence and gates, according to city permit records and blueprints.
5/ A Crow company began paying the roughly $1500/year tax bill for the renovated property.
Thomas and his wife Ginni had paid the tax before the sale.
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Thomas and his wife Ginni had paid the tax before the sale.
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6/ The properties were owned by Thomas & other family members. The justice inherited his share in the mid-1980s.
They were purchased by a company called Savannah Historic Developments, LLC that had the same Dallas street address as Crow Holdings.
They were purchased by a company called Savannah Historic Developments, LLC that had the same Dallas street address as Crow Holdings.
7/ Records show that Savannah Historic Developments is managed by another company, which Crow runs as CEO and which manages other Crow assets like his private jet, which Thomas has flown on around the world.
8/ Was the $133,363 price for the Thomas lots fair market value, as Crow maintains? It’s unclear, but Crow paid significantly less for other properties on the same street, buying two properties there for a combined $40,000.
9/ In a statement, Crow said he purchased Thomas’ mother’s house, where Thomas spent part of his childhood, to preserve it for posterity and eventually create a museum ”telling the story of our nation’s second black Supreme Court Justice.”
10/ Crow’s statement did not directly address why he also bought two vacant lots from Thomas down the street.
But he said that the lots were later sold to a builder “committed to improving the quality of the neighborhood and preserving its historical integrity.”
But he said that the lots were later sold to a builder “committed to improving the quality of the neighborhood and preserving its historical integrity.”
11/ Regarding the improvements & additions to the mother’s house, Crow said, “Improvements were also made to the Thomas property to preserve its long-term viability and accessibility to the public.”
12/ Ethics law experts said Crow’s intentions had no bearing on Thomas’ legal obligation to disclose the sale.
Federal law requires justices & other officials to disclose the details of most real estate sales of more than $1,000.
Federal law requires justices & other officials to disclose the details of most real estate sales of more than $1,000.
13/ “He needed to report his interest in the sale,” said former govt ethics lawyer Virginia Canter from watchdog group CREW. “Given the role Crow has played in subsidizing the lifestyle of Thomas & his wife, you have to wonder if this was an effort to put cash in their pockets.”
14/ The justice’s failure to report the sale suggests “Thomas was hiding a financial relationship with Crow,” said Kathleen Clark, a legal ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis who reviewed years of Thomas’ disclosure filings.
15/ Thomas did not respond to requests for comment. Neither did Perry Thompson, the Supreme Court administrator who notarized the justice’s signature on the transaction.
16/ The revelation of a direct financial transaction between Thomas & Crow casts their relationship in a new light.
We previously reported that Thomas has accepted luxury travel from Crow for decades, including private jet flights & superyacht cruises:
propublica.org
We previously reported that Thomas has accepted luxury travel from Crow for decades, including private jet flights & superyacht cruises:
propublica.org
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