John,

Is our democracy for sale?

During the 2022 midterm election, billionaires spent more than $1 billion to influence our elections, mostly to elect right-wing candidates who want to slash funding for human needs and take away our rights―from voting rights to access to public education―while keeping an unjust tax system that rewards wealth over work.[1]

Now, in a bombshell report from ProPublica, we’ve learned more about how billionaires are also buying Supreme Court Justices.[2] Since Justice Clarence Thomas was sworn into the Supreme Court in 1991, he’s accepted millions of dollars of unreported gifts from a handful of billionaires, including:

• 38 destination vacations

• 26 private jet flights

• 8 helicopter flights

• 12 VIP passes to sporting events

• 2 luxury resort stays in Florida and Jamaica

• 1 private yacht vacation around the Bahamas

• 1 standing invitation to an exclusive golf club

• And, private school tuition for the grandnephew Thomas raised as a son

The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments later this year in a new case, Moore v. US, which is relevant to each of Clarence Thomas’s billionaire benefactors. This case could undermine our entire tax code along with deciding whether or not the United States can tax the wealth of multi-millionaires and billionaires. This is absolutely critical because, when the wealthy finally pay their fair share, we’d be able to invest in critical programs for people with low incomes and marginalized communities.

We need fair arbiters on the Supreme Court, not one’s in the pockets of billionaire benefactors. Sign now to demand Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from Moore v. US based on clear conflicts of interest.

At a time of growing income and wealth inequality, it’s critical that the U.S. have the ability to tax the the ultra-wealthy to close the wealth gap and invest in our future.

Thank you,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, Coalition on Human Needs

[1] REPORT: BILLIONAIRE SPENDING TOPPED $1 BILLION FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 2022 ELECTIONS

[2] Clarence Thomas’ 38 Vacations: The Other Billionaires Who Have Treated the Supreme Court Justice to Luxury Travel