this post was submitted on 18 Dec 2023

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655

The Clarence Thomas Scandal Is Somehow Looking Even Worse (www.vanityfair.com)

submitted 9 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

43 comments fedilink hide all child comments

ProPublica reports that Thomas was in debt, frustrated with his salary, and implying he'd resign from the Supreme Court if his financial situation didn't change—just before Harlan Crow and other conservatives started lavishing him with expensive gifts and luxury vacations.

Before he began receiving expensive gifts and luxury vacations from Harlan Crow and other conservative benefactors, Clarence Thomas reportedly expressed significant concerns about his financial situation—even prompting concerns from a Republican lawmaker more than 20 years ago that he might resign from the Supreme Court if he could not boost his salary.

“One or more justices will leave soon” if justices aren’t given a raise, Thomas told then Republican Representative Cliff Stearns in 2000, as they flew home from a conservative conference at a Georgia resort, according to ProPublica.

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[–] neanderthal@lemmy.world 153 points 9 months ago (11 children)

They get paid 274k...DC is expensive, but anyone that can't live very comfortably on that is awful with money. Being awful with money will lose you a TS clearance because it makes you susceptible to bribery by spies. I would think it would also be a disqualifier for a SCOTUS judge for the same reason.

I think maintaining a TS clearance should be a requirement for all positions above a certain level in the federal government. Not because they need access to TS information, but to ensure they are at a lower risk of bribery, adversarial interests, and criminal activity. Getting a TS clearance isn't terribly hard. Just generally have your act together. As long as you aren't a train wreck, a drug addict, a criminal, an untrustworthy asshat, or have connections to adversaries, you will pass adjudication. TLDR: A TS clearance would ensure high level government employees are minimumly functional humans.

[–] cybersandwich@lemmy.world 38 points 9 months ago (1 children)

The "rules for thee and not for me" coming out of our politics this last 5-10 years seems to be accelerating. It's infuriating. When this story broke, I was in the middle of doing my trainings at work. You know the ones you roll your eyes and burn an afternoon doing to get off the naughty list. Clarence must have skipped the ethics training. The whole part of "even the appearance of wrong doing" violates our ethics guidelines. THE APPEARANCE.

You know what would happen if I sold my house to a contractor we were working with, then let my mom move into that house, then this person renovated and remodeled the whole house, but my mom's rent didn't go up mind you. Oh, and then I did official business with this person's company and made official decisions that would/could directly impact that persons business. Oh yea, then not disclose it. You know what the fuck would happen to me?? I'd be investigated by OPR, put on administrative leave immediately, eventually terminated, and probably charged criminally.

Then you have this clown who absolutely knows better. He's a supreme court justice. You can't plead ignorance here, Clarence. He just...gets to continue to wipe his ass with the public trust and violate his oath of office and responsibility to the American people.

[–] rayyy@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

Odd that red state losers vote for people who make them bigger losers, isn't it?

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 17 points 9 months ago (1 children)

That would create huge separation of power issues. The executive branch would become the arbiter of who is allowed to serve in Congress or the Supreme Court. Trump showed us how easy it is for a president to abuse the clearance system when he got his dipshit spawn cleared despite the objections of the usual personnel.

[–] zalgotext@sh.itjust.works 4 points 9 months ago

Maybe they shouldn't be issued clearances (unlessn it's required to do part of their job), but they should do through a similar background check process to make sure they're fit to hold office.

Then again, the whole power-of-the-people election thing is supposed to filter out people who aren't fit for office 🤔

[–] Sprokes@jlai.lu 16 points 9 months ago

Even rich people are susceptible to bribery. I remember someone saying that they voted for Trump because he is rich and won't be influenced by lobby, but look at what happens. He passed laws that benefit him and his family, supporting Russia,... We need other means and not throw more money for those people.

[–] papertowels@lemmy.one 15 points 9 months ago

To add on, security clearances are centered around the idea of "how much damage could this cause to the country if mishandled".

Well, SCOTUS can do a lot of damage to the country.

[–] Kecessa@sh.itjust.works 13 points 9 months ago

We had a bit of a thing about that in Canada with opposition leaders not wanting to pass security clearance to be allowed to see documents related to Chinese interference because as long as they didn't see the documents they could speculate as much as they wanted... Pretty crazy that it's not automatic to be an elected member of the government...

[–] eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, but that would 100% get abused politically to remove justices that don't align with whoever is issuing clearances. Maybe not today, or tomorrow, but recent history has shown that trusting politicians to not abuse the system isn't a good long term solution

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 0 points 9 months ago

They did it to Oppenheimer

[–] MechanicalJester@lemm.ee 6 points 9 months ago

Regular TS sure, but like Whitehouse comms? Kinda strict... But I completely agree that this guy obviously for sale to the highest bidding handler.

The way this is supposed to work, is the higher the position and responsibility, the greater the "find out" consequences. You absolutely had to know better and you absolutely did it anyway.

Some Airman walks off with a Secret document, and they're in for some UCMJ meat grinding.

This joke needs to be fired and charged if there are crimes. If that kind of blatant bias for bucks bullshit isn't a crime it needs to be.

Fuck that guy.

[–] MechanicalJester@lemm.ee 6 points 9 months ago

Oh also agree 💯 about the salary. 274K with gold plated benefits? Yeah cry me a river. If you had to shovel sewage for 60 hours a week for minimum wage, but his benefits package, there would be a million people fighting for the job.

[–] pan_troglodytes@programming.dev 2 points 9 months ago

a clearance wouldnt ensure anything, and Supreme Court Justices dont need them (by law - USC Title 18a,9 ), so it doesnt matter

[–] gareins@lemm.ee 2 points 9 months ago

Its first time for me hearing about the ts clereance, but seems to me its doing its job. If it was used the way you describe it, I am sure it would fast become the victim of Goodharts law and thus become useless.

[–] planetaryprotection@midwest.social 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I like this sentiment, but giving the US intelligence apparatus what amounts to a veto for elected/appointed officials feels like a recipe for disaster.

The only way I see that being workable is if the clearance grantors are transparently beholden to elected officials or the people directly. Which are essentially what elections and the congressional confirmation process are supposed to be. But both of those processes feel like they've been subverted. (Elections by the two-party system and the fact that half the population seems intent on electing a dictator, and the other by the senators/representatives that come out of that electoral system).

[–] neanderthal@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

The US intelligence apparatus doesn't do this. The OPM does.

As per your second paragraph and many other comments. I agree. It is hard to avoid it being politicized at any step of the process. Everything interview would have to be recorded. Copies of all reviewed records would need to be kept. Adjudicators would need heavily redacted transcripts of the records and interviews.

[–] athos77@kbin.social 66 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Funny, there's nothing in Faux's website about this. Nor about how an entire binder of highly classified intelligence mysteriously disappeared from the White House during the final days of the trump administration.

[–] spider@lemmy.nz 26 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Funny, there’s nothing in Faux's website about this.

Of course not; they're afraid of their base.

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 3 points 9 months ago

It's worse than that. Keeping their viewers in the dark about shit like this is their mission.

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 65 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Is there really not a single criminal charge that can come of this overt bribery?

Nevermind, forgot I lived in a pay to play, fully bought and paid for dumpster fire exploitation camp, not a society.

Carry on.

[–] spider@lemmy.nz 11 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

pay to play, fully bought and paid for

...by The Big Club

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I am a Carlin disciple. Imho the greatest social commentator and philosopher of the 20th century.

I'd like to say he tried to warn us, but he knew how this was all going to go, and that there wasn't really hope for decades before he died. He just helped people like me to feel sane by acknowledging those that also recognized the way the wind was blowing.

"be happy with what you got, folks. The table is tilted, the game is rigged!"

[–] spider@lemmy.nz 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I always thought that if Carlin wasn't already dead, the current state of affairs would've likely killed him.

[–] AllonzeeLV@lemmy.world 9 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Nah friend, don't sell him that short. By the end, he enjoyed the carnage. He separated himself from our shitty species, an aspirational goal in these times for me honestly. Here's an interview where he laid it out.

George would be laughing his ass off at the perverse, cartoonish morbidity how far the many are still eager to go in service to the owners that own and torture them, you, me, etc. He wasn't loaded, but he would be comfortable enough to get entertainment from this murder porn of a civilization at a distance.

In his own as always eloquent words, I promise I'm not exaggerating:

https://youtu.be/ls8RXqyZDsk?si=ANxYAXr4gcocgk0a

And that's the most cathartic outlook us powerless peasants can have.

[–] spider@lemmy.nz 2 points 9 months ago

Thanks; this footage should run in a loop at the Smithsonian.

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 61 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

I don’t know how a solicitation for a bribe could be any thinner than this without being clearly criminal.

[–] skulblaka@kbin.social 32 points 9 months ago (1 children)

It is clearly criminal already.

[–] gullible@kbin.social 20 points 9 months ago

Uhh, how do you mean? Clarence Thomas is now wealthy, which precludes such labels.

[–] squiblet@kbin.social 38 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I understand that sure, he could make more in private practice, but odd how he couldn't make ends meet with he and his wife making 300-400k a year.

[–] TechyDad@lemmy.world 22 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I'd love to make that much. I'm pretty frugal with my needs (don't need a large house, car, or expensive baubles) so I'd basically live slightly better than I'm living now while putting more money away and without worrying about running short on money.

I can't understand people who make tons of money and act like it's not enough.

[–] squiblet@kbin.social 7 points 9 months ago

Greed and being really bad an managing money, I guess. Lots of people live completely at the margin of whatever they can afford - too large houses, bad decisions about cars, expensive vacations, let alone things like gambling, strip clubs, extramarital affairs and drugs. I've had a screwed up work history due to illness and some poor career choices, and I'd be thrilled and completely all set to be making $80,000.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 4 points 9 months ago

Yeah seriously. That’s enough money to live in a pretty nice house, take a vacation every year, and never worry about finances.

[–] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 13 points 9 months ago

The economy has been in shambles for the rich for sometime. Some can't even afford a 2nd vacation home.

[–] Brkdncr@lemmy.world 23 points 9 months ago

Dude could have left the SC and found a high-paying gig anywhere. Law firms love attaching celebrity legal names to their partnerships.

Whether he knew it at the time or not, this was an ask.

[–] Suavevillain@lemmy.world 20 points 9 months ago

He needs to go. How are you in that position and got sugar daddies?

[–] Zorque@kbin.social 16 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Ooh, that last line of the summary is a particularly telling one.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 15 points 9 months ago

Every neutral judge invites bribes as they're being flown home from political rallies on the private jets of billionaires. It indicates FREEDOM™️

[–] reverendsteveii@lemm.ee 14 points 9 months ago (1 children)

this thing where we all pretend that they're burying him under a pile of money out of the goodness of their hearts, he knows how they want him to rule, but it's sheer coincidence that he rules in their favor 100% of the time is how rich people get eaten. at this point they're fucking with us on purpose to show us what they can get away with, but we decide what they can get away with.

[–] Caradoc879@lemmy.world 1 points 9 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Yep, the last decade has shown they don't need to be quiet about anything anymore. The gifts are so obvious but nobody with power will do anything to fix it.

[–] sik0fewl@kbin.social 10 points 9 months ago

“One or more justices will leave soon” if justices aren’t given a raise

That sounds great!

[–] yournamehere@lemm.ee 5 points 9 months ago

first world, second world....where u at usa?