Hi Reader,

Today, ProPublica published a bombshell story revealing that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secretly accepted luxury trips from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow.

Our reporters found evidence that, over the last 20-plus years, Thomas has made use of Crow’s private jet, accompanied Crow on his private superyacht to far-flung locales such as Indonesia and New Zealand, joined Crow at an exclusive all-male retreat in California, and much more. Thomas did not report most of these trips on his annual financial disclosures. Ethics experts we spoke to said that the law clearly requires disclosure for private jet flights, and that Thomas appears to have violated it.

This story gets to the core of ProPublica’s mission to investigate the powerful and hold them to account. This kind of work is not always quick and easy. Over the last few months, our journalists spoke to dozens of sources, including former yacht workers and tour guides; consulted flight records and ship logs; and even spoke to the artist who was commissioned by Crow to paint a portrait of Thomas. All of this work helped to build an understanding of the monetary value of the gifts Crow gave Thomas over the years. Thomas did not respond to a detailed list of questions we sent to him prior to publishing this article (what reporters call “no-surprises journalism”). In his statement, Crow said he never sought to influence Thomas and was providing “hospitality” to a friend.

We have the time and the resources to dig into the behavior of people who hold the highest government offices because we’re reader-supported. Tens of thousands of readers donate to ProPublica each year to ensure that we continue to have the freedom and resources we need to keep at this for as long as it takes.

Join us today with your donation of any amount. Your gift will ensure we can keep digging into the actions of the powerful, no matter how difficult or time-consuming they make it. Together, we’re making a difference, and I’d be grateful if you joined us, too.

Thank you,
Robin Sparkman
President, ProPublica