GOP Megadonor Paid Tuition Of Child Supreme Court Justice Raised ‘As A Son’

Harlan Crow, a billionaire from Texas, paid for the private boarding school tuition for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' grandnephew.

A boy Thomas said he raised as a son.

Thomas acquired legal custody of his grandnephew when he was 6. In 2008, the boy began attending Hidden Lake Academy, a $ 6,000-per-month boarding school. Crow also “picked up the tab” when the young man transferred to Randolph-Macon Academy.

The payments were never disclosed on any financial disclosure reports.

Thomas and Crow have enjoyed a close friendship for years. Some critics of the conservative Supreme Court justice have gone so far as to say his purported failure to disclose these payments constitutes an impeachable offense.

For his part, Crow vigorously defended the payments in a statement to The Hill:

“Tuition and other financial assistance is given directly to academic institutions, not to students or to their families,” Crow's office said. “These scholarships and other contributions have always been paid solely from personal funds, sometimes held at and paid through the family business. It's disappointing that those with partisan political interests would try to turn helping at-risk youth with tuition assistance into something nefarious or political.”

The Hill has reached out to Thomas for comment through a court spokesperson.

Thomas previously said Crow's paid for private jet flights and vacations with their families didn't need to be disclosed since the real estate developer did not have business before the court. The tuition payments were not disclosed before today.

Crow also purchased real estate owned by Thomas and his family.

Bloomberg reported in late April that in at least one instance, Justice Thomas didn't recuse himself from a case involving a company the Crow family then had a minority interest in.

Conservatives have mainly defended Thomas, saying there's zero evidence the financial disclosures influenced his decisions. Many argue liberal justices aren't subjected to the same level of scrutiny.

Current rules make it difficult to assess the financial standings of Supreme Court justices. Justices are only required to report conflicts of interest “in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned” or when his spouse or dependent child has a financial interest “or any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome.”

Mark Paoletta, a friend of Thomas, defended the decision not to report the tuition payments since the child wasn't Thomas' son, adding:

“The Thomases have rarely spoken publicly about the remarkably generous efforts to help a child in need,” he said in a statement. “They have always respected the privacy of this young man and his family. It is disappointing and painful, but unsurprising that some journalists and critics cannot do the same.”

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