High court, low accountability: How Thomas scandal threatens Supreme Court
About 7 in 10 Americans trusted the U.S. Supreme Court when, in 1997, Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed receiving a private jet trip from Harlan Crow.
Mr. Crow hasn’t appeared in any of Justice Thomas’ disclosures since then, but the trips and gifts never stopped, according to an explosive ProPublica investigation published last week.
Chronicling decades of lavish presents and vacations bestowed on Justice Thomas and his wife by the Crow family, the ProPublica story has dealt a major blow to the high court’s integrity. And it comes at a time when, unlike 1997, fewer than half of Americans trust the court.
That trust has been declining for years as the court has reshaped American law in significant ways, and often in a direction further to the right than a majority
