Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas did not repay a “significant portion” of a $267,230 loan from a wealthy friend, The New York Times reported Wednesday.
Thomas used the money to pay for a 40-foot luxury motor coach.
Thomas, one of the most conservative members of the court, has in the past few months been accused of accepting lavish gifts without disclosing them, including yacht trips, private jet rides, luxury experiences, and business transactions.
In 1999, he borrowed $267,230 from Anthony Welters to buy a used Prevost Marathon Le Mirage XL, according to a report by Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee, obtained by the Times.
Welters told the Senate committee that Thomas had made all the scheduled annual interest-only payments on the RV, but that only amounted to $180,000, according to the Times. But Welters only provided proof of one canceled check, dated December 2000, for $20,042.
“None of the documents reviewed by committee staff indicated that Thomas ever made payments to Welters in excess of the annual interest on the loan,” the report said.
“No bank behaving in a commercially reasonable, arms-length manner would have given that loan in the first place,” Michael Hamersley, a congressional witness, told the Times. “And a bank doesn’t just say, Oh gee, you’ve paid a lot in interest — we’re good, no need to pay back what you actually owe.’
“This was, in short, a sweetheart deal.”
Welters told the Times this summer the loan had been “satisfied.”
“I loaned a friend money, as I have other friends and family. We’ve all been on one side or the other of that equation,” he said.
In a statement to the Times on Wednesday, he said because the loan was made so many years ago, “bank records — which I have sought — no longer exist. While not a tangible record, I continue to put stock in my contemporaneous belief.
“While I understand the attention given [to] who this involves, the difference between what you’re comparing to and what happened here is that a friend lent another friend money. As anyone who has borrowed from or lent to family or friends knows, it’s simply not the same as a bank.”
A report by left-wing outlet ProPublica in August alleged Thomas accepted — and did not report — at least 38 vacations, 26 international private jet flights, VIP passes to sporting events, and resort stays from friends.
Thomas’ legal team has criticized left-wing organizations “with largely undisclosed supporters that stand diametrically opposed to his judicial philosophy” in response to the flurry of ethics attacks.
“This is calumny. Willful violations require intentional disregard or indifference. The attacks on Justice Thomas are nothing less than ridiculous and dangerous, and they set a terrible precedent for political blood sport through federal ethics filings,” attorney Elliot Berke said in a statement with Thomas’ financial disclosure report for 2022.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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