Clarence Thomas and the Billionaire

[dirtywick]

they just sit there and say "there's nothing in the constitution that says this can't be going on" and then it goes on.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

The mistake people make is believing that these people have integrity. Maybe rarely that is true but more often than not it's like anyone who gets power, they just rationalize their decisions but the decisions are what they personally want.

 

[Stacyhs]

Let's ask Anita Hill about Thomas' integrity. Oh, wait, we did. Biden was wrong on that one but at least he admits it.

Thomas probably consulted Kavanaugh while K was 'loving' his beer.

 

[JayUtah]

The mistake people make is believing that these people have integrity. Maybe rarely that is true but more often than not it's like anyone who gets power, they just rationalize their decisions but the decisions are what they personally want.

Some ConLaw professors actually still regard the current Supreme Court as some kind of holy priesthood. Luckily it's the other ConLaw professors who drink at my bar.

The Chief Justice has been almost fanatical in his desire to portray the Court as just this sort of high priesthood. He'll naturally succeed with many lay Americans. But bluster will get you only so far, especially since Justice Thomas got his hand stuck in the cookie jar and can only hold it behind his back for so long. Will anything substantive happen? No, but C.J. Roberts' job just got a whole lot harder.

What also happens is that these people really do believe they are respectable and honorable because they hold the office. "I'm a Supreme Court justice, therefore my reasoning is impeccable and you must respect it." What happens when the conman (conperson?) actually starts believing their own hype?

 

[JayUtah]

Thomas probably consulted Kavanaugh while K was 'loving' his beer.

That's on point. If you go back to the Thomas confirmation after-hearings, you can see a clear parallel in the Kavanaugh hearings; it's a tried-'n'-true Republican shuffle: "Waaaaahhhh!! No, I'm the victim!"

 

[The Great Zaganza]

If Thomas thought that the trips and gifts for him were appropriate, he would have disclosed them at the time.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Some ConLaw professors actually still regard the current Supreme Court as some kind of holy priesthood. Luckily it's the other ConLaw professors who drink at my bar.

The Chief Justice has been almost fanatical in his desire to portray the Court as just this sort of high priesthood. He'll naturally succeed with many lay Americans. But bluster will get you only so far, especially since Justice Thomas got his hand stuck in the cookie jar and can only hold it behind his back for so long. Will anything substantive happen? No, but C.J. Roberts' job just got a whole lot harder.

What also happens is that these people really do believe they are respectable and honorable because they hold the office. "I'm a Supreme Court justice, therefore my reasoning is impeccable and you must respect it." What happens when the conman (conperson?) actually starts believing their own hype?

CJ Roberts proves my point. He had his fingers in the cookie jar by proxy via his wife taking in millions.

 

[Stacyhs]

That's on point. If you go back to the Thomas confirmation after-hearings, you can see a clear parallel in the Kavanaugh hearings; it's a tried-'n'-true Republican shuffle: "Waaaaahhhh!! No, I'm the victim!"

Victimhood is an integral part of the conservative mind.

 

[Chris_Halkides]

Stand Together

ProPublica reported, "On Jan. 25, 2018, dozens of private jets descended on Palm Springs International Airport. Some of the richest people in the country were arriving for the annual winter donor summit of the Koch network, the political organization founded by libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch."

 

[Chris_Halkides]

Clarence Thomas and the Koch brothers

My previous post was intended to include the information that Clarence Thomas has attended at least two such gatherings, according to ProPublica.

 

[Darat]

My previous post was intended to include the information that Clarence Thomas has attended at least two such gatherings, according to ProPublica.

Someone has to carry the bags and go to the bar.

 

[The Great Zaganza]

He better if he wants to keep his snout in the trough

 

[Random]

But is it really bribery if he was going to vote against the poor and working class anyway?

 

[The Great Zaganza]

But is it really bribery if he was going to vote against the poor and working class anyway?

It depends on whether you are a different dualist or not: then it's a question of corrupted Soul or corrupted Body

 

[quadraginta]

It depends on whether you are a different dualist or not: then it's a question of corrupted Soul or corrupted Body

I don't think there is sufficient evidence to assume that Thomas has a soul. Even by the standards of those who believe in such things.

Evidence does suggest that if he ever had one he sold it long ago.

 

[Chris_Halkides]

Chevron doctrine flip

The Guardian reported, "“The Koch network has invested tremendous capital to overturn longstanding legal precedent known as Chevron deference, which would handcuff regulators and serve the interests of corporate fat cats,” Durbin said.

“As more details are revealed of Justice Thomas’s undisclosed involvement with the Koch political network, there are serious questions about his impartiality in cases squarely confronting the Chevron doctrine. For these reasons, I’m calling on Justice Thomas to recuse himself from consideration of Loper Bright v Raimondo.”" link

Jacobin wrote, "Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas changed his position on one of America’s most significant regulatory doctrines after his wife reportedly accepted secret payments from a shadowy conservative network pushing for the change. Thomas’s shift also came while he was receiving lavish gifts from a billionaire linked to other groups criticizing the same doctrine — which is now headed back to the high court.

The so-called “Chevron deference” doctrine stipulates that the executive branch — not the federal courts — has the power to interpret laws passed by Congress in certain circumstances. Conservatives for years have fought to overturn the doctrine, a move that would empower legal challenges to federal agency regulations on everything from climate policy to workplace safety to overtime pay."

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

But is it really bribery if he was going to vote against the poor and working class anyway?

Consider that these SCOTUS justices have the opportunity to influence their colleagues. So it's not just the one vote.

I'd be interested to know if any decisions Thomas wrote the response to were actually written by a group like ALEX or some alt-right aligned 'think tank' or some influential members in the Federalist Society.

 

[thaiboxerken]

But is it really bribery if he was going to vote against the poor and working class anyway?

Yes, it is.

 

[dann]

Desus Nice chats about the latest news including Clarence Thomas not reporting a $250,000 forgiven loan on his tax returns, New York having one of the lowest bullying rates in the country, and Ronny Chieng chimes in on the list of worst first dates according to women.
Clarence Thomas's Unreported Loan & New York Schools See a Decline in Bullying (The Daily Show on YouTube, Oct 27, 2023 - 7:05 min)

Senate Finance Committee probe into Clarence Thomas finds that he didn’t disclose loan for RV (CNN, Oct 25, 2023)

 

[Stacyhs]

Senate Finance Committee probe into Clarence Thomas finds that he didn’t disclose loan for RV (CNN, Oct 25, 2023)

From you link:

...a handwritten note from Thomas on Supreme Court stationery dated December 6, 1999. The documents included a promissory note detailing that the principal balance of the note had an interest rate of 7.5% per year.

In 2004, the loan was extended for 10 years. According to the summary, committee staff reviewed a note from Welters in 2008 that stated that Thomas had been paying him interest only on the vehicle for “many years” and that Welters would no longer seek payment because he believed that Thomas had paid interest greater than the purchase price of the bus.

7.5% of $250,000 = $8,750

$8,750 X 9 years= $78,750

$78,750 is not equal or greater than $250,000.