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ProPublica reports:
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. A long weekend of strategizing, relaxation in the California sun and high-dollar fundraising lay ahead. Just after 6 p.m., a Gulfstream G200 jet touched down on the tarmac. One of the Koch network’s most powerful allies was on board: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
During the summit, the justice went to a private dinner for the network’s donors. Thomas has attended Koch donor events at least twice over the years, according to interviews with three former network employees and one major donor. The justice was brought in to speak, staffers said, in the hopes that such access would encourage donors to continue giving. That puts Thomas in the extraordinary position of having served as a fundraising draw for a network that has brought cases before the Supreme Court, including one of the most closely watched of the upcoming term.
Read the full article.
New: Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court. https://t.co/DOWKMCVqY8
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
NEW: A ProPublica investigation has found that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secretly participated in Koch network donor events – a breach of judicial norms that one federal judge said “takes my breath away.” 🧵👇
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
2/ In 2018, Thomas flew to Palm Springs on a private jet and attended a dinner for the network’s donors.
The justice was brought in, former network staffers said, in the hopes that such access would encourage donors to continue giving.
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
3/ That dinner happened during the network’s marquee fundraising event, typically open to donors who give at least $100,000 a year.
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
4/ The Koch network has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court, including one of the most closely watched of the upcoming term.
Ethics experts said Thomas’ relationship with the network could call his impartiality in the case into doubt.https://t.co/bemJXxDkRE
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
5/ Thomas’ relationship with Charles and David Koch developed over years of trips to the Bohemian Grove, a secretive all-men’s retreat in Northern California where the justice stayed in a small camp with real estate billionaire Harlan Crow and the Kochs. pic.twitter.com/jjwWaNPPdH
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
6/ ProPublica found Thomas has been a regular at the Bohemian Grove for 25 years as Harlan Crow’s guest, according to records and interviews. ProPublica found 6 specific trips he didn’t disclose pic.twitter.com/hq1Bg8Uh8F
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
7/ Thomas didn’t disclose the 2018 flight to Palm Springs before the Koch summit either, an apparent violation of a federal law requiring justices to report most gifts.
A Koch network spokesperson said the network didn’t pay for the flight — it remains unclear who did pay. pic.twitter.com/1zULAWl49A
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
8/ One former fundraising staffer for the Koch network said the organization’s relationship with Thomas was considered a valuable asset:
“Offering a high-level donor the experience of meeting with someone like that — that’s huge.”
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
9/ Many details about Thomas’ role at the summits remain unclear. But a spokesperson for the Koch network said in a statement, “Thomas wasn’t present for fundraising conversations.” pic.twitter.com/oka53FO73d
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023
10/ “All of the sitting Justices and many who came before them have contributed to the national dialogue in speeches, book tours, and social gatherings,” the Koch network spokesperson said. “Our events are no different. To claim otherwise is false.”
— ProPublica (@propublica) September 22, 2023