The Attacks on Justice Thomas Continue
Yet another Pro-Publica hit piece with ZERO evidence of wrongdoing.
ProPublica has been after Justice Thomas for a while now. They are actually kind of obsessed with him. They seem to see Justice Thomas as the weakest link and their ticket toward forcing one of the conservative judges off the bench. Thomas responded to the first ProPublica article in April, saying he had done nothing wrong. The newest “expose” is filled with more of the same, allegations of impropriety without any substance behind them.
ProPublica wrote about the Justice’s friendship with Harlan Crow earlier this year. The newest attempt to smear Justice Thomas highlights his friendship with three other wealthy men: H. Wayne Huizenga, David Sokol, and Paul “Tony” Novelly. The article wants to claim that Thomas’s friendship with these men and accepting their gifts is somehow unethical. However, even they have to admit that they can not find any evidence of wrongdoing on Thomas’s part.
ProPublica has not identified any legal cases that Huizenga, Sokol or Novelly had at the Supreme Court during their documented relationships with Thomas, although they all work in industries significantly impacted by the court’s decisions.
The entire country is “significantly impacted by the court’s decisions,” so what exactly are the authors getting at with that line? It seems like they are trying to throw shade where none exists.
Of the men in question, only Sokol responded ProPublica, saying, “We have never once discussed any pending court matter. Our conversations have always revolved around helping young people, sports, and family matters.”
The most egregious part of the article is when the writers seem to imply that either Sokol had influenced the Justice, or Thomas had given David Sokol some inside knowledge about a case that was before the SCOTUS - the Student Loan Debt Forgiveness case.
Everyone with half a brain in their skull said the same thing: the Biden plan was illegal, and the Court would have to strike it down. Dana discussed the Biden Student Loan Debt Forgiveness scheme at length on the program many times. Many conservatives made the exact prediction that Mr. Sokol did. The fact that the man came to the same conclusion as the rest of us doesn’t mean he had any kind of influence or inside knowledge.
The writers then moved on to the relationship with Novelly. Once again, they undercut the whole purpose of the article by including quotes from a mutual friend, Ron Bergeron. Ron said that Novelly was “very generous with all his friends.” He also said he had only ever discussed charity work with the Justice, not business. They even bring up the only time a case involving one of Novelly’s businesses found its way to the door of the Supreme Court. Guess what happened? Did Thomas help out his friend? Nope. The Court refused to hear the case, costing Novelly’s oil company $150 million.
Turning the focus to Huizenga, once again, people who knew him said he was very generous with everyone in his orbit, even giving opera tickets worth thousands to a caterer. The big gift here seems to be a membership to Huizenga’s then-ultra-exclusive golf course. Members included Rush Limbaugh, Michael Douglas, and even Michael Bloomberg, but no one paid a dime for membership. Huizenga just loved being able to give his friends a “little slice of heaven.”
So where did Justice Thomas meet these extremely wealthy and kind men? The answer is the Horatio Alger Association. The Association “is dedicated to the simple but powerful belief that hard work, honesty and determination can conquer all obstacles.” They give a lifetime membership to “outstanding leaders who have accomplished remarkable successes in spite of adversity.”
The biggest “scandal” involving the association, according to ProPublica, is that the yearly induction ceremony is held at the Supreme Court building. The writers want us to be especially upset that the association charges a “donation” to gain entry to the building. They conveniently leave out that the cost also includes a dinner at the Library of Congress, a Member’s Forum at the Ritz Carlton, and much more. Attendees are not paying for access to the Court; they are paying for a lavish weekend and sponsoring a National Scholarship fund.
In the end, the authors at ProPublica have not provided any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Justice Thomas. It is interesting that this information is being used to smear the Justice now when most of the trips and gifts mentioned date back to the 1990s-2010s. It’s almost like it wasn’t a big deal until the Conservatives gained a majority on the bench.
Lorraine Yuriar is a wife, mother, and a lifelong conservative, currently stuck in a very blue state.
It’s the appearance that matters for a judge not whether there is an actual impropriety. I have a lot of rich friends too but none of them are doing for anybody what these guys did for Thomas. That leads to the issue of motive. What motivates the kind of gifts Thomas received? Usually, the answer is self interest.
They just want to cry because he doing his job.