Clarence Thomas’s Billionaire Benefactor Collects Hitler Art

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Republican billionaire & Clarence Thomas's bestie Harlan Crow says he WON'T provide info to Senate
by Glenn Kirschner
May 14, 2023 #TeamJustice

ProPublica recently revealed that Republican billionaire Harlan Crow lavished extravagant trips and accommodations on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Then it was revealed that Crow also bought Thomas's mother's house and let her live there rent free. But wait, there's more - Crow reportedly payed private school tuition for a grandnephew Thomas was raising as a son.

Not surprisingly, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Finance Committee demanded Crow provide information about the lavish gifts, benefits and payments to Thomas and his family, in an effort to investigate what kind of legislative fixes need to be enacted to address what appears to be rampant influence peddling and purchasing.

Crow just told the Senate Finance Committee that he will NOT be providing the requested evidence. And wait until you hear the reasons Crow gave for why he was refusing to cooperate with the Senate.



Transcript

so friends a republican billionaire Mega
donor who has been lavishing extravagant
expensive gifts and benefits on Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas just told
the senate committee
no I won't be providing you information
about any of that
about what is essentially his Supreme
Court influence operation
let's talk about that
because Justice matters
[Music]
[Music]
hey all Glenn kirschner here
so friends recent reporting by
propublica revealed that Republican
billionaire megadon or Harlan Crow has
for a very long time been lavishing
millions of dollars worth of luxury
trips and accommodations on Supreme
Court Justice Clarence Thomas
Crowe also reportedly purchased Thomas's
mother's home dumped all kinds of money
into it to make improvements and then of
course let Thomas's mother live there
rent free Crow reportedly paid the
private school tuition of Clarence
Thomas's I believe Grand nephew who he
raises as a son
etc
etc
etc so not surprisingly
Senate committees have requested
information and accounting from crow
about how much money he has dumped into
Clarence Thomas and his family members
in what is a pretty transparent
influence peddling operation
are you ready for Harlan Crow's reply
headline from NBC News Harlan crowed
declines to provide Senate finance
committee with list of gifts he has
given to Justice Clarence Thomas
because of course he declined
the article begins Republican donor
Harlan Crowe wrote in a letter to the
Senate finance committee that he will
not provide a list of gifts he gave to
Justice Clarence Thomas who has faced
recent calls to step down
to resign
to leave the Supreme Court because you
have disgraced this nation
those are my editorial Editions
the article continues
Crow conveyed that decision to committee
chairman Senator Ron Wyden which a
representative for Crow provided to NBC
News
Wyden spokesperson Ryan Carey also
confirmed to NBC that the committee had
received Crowe's letter
friends here's what Crow said
quote we have serious concerns about the
scope of and Authority for this inquiry
as you are aware the committee's powers
to investigate are not unlimited the
letter from Crow's lawyer Michael Bopp
said
the Senate finance committee Bop argued
lacks a legislative purpose in its
request for the list of gifts saying
that the Supreme Court has explicitly
stated that Congress has no authority to
engage in law enforcement investigations
or to conduct investigations aimed at
exposing citizens Private Affairs for
the sake of exposure
the committee also lacks the authority
to conduct a tax audit Bop wrote for the
purpose of determining whether Justice
Thomas complied with ethical standards
the chairman believes should apply in
this instance
in addition Bob said that the panel's
inquiry targeting a Supreme Court
Justice raises substantial separation of
powers concerns
the letter argues that the crows whom
Bob said have been friends with the
Thomases for more than 20 years have
provided Hospitality to the justice and
his family
the IRS Bob wrote has not been
aggressive in arguing a gift tax law
applies in that context
he also said that the sale of properties
related to Thomas which the judge didn't
disclose
complied with federal and state gift tax
laws
wow just
wow
so let's take Harlan Crowe and his
lawyer Mr Bops assertions one at a time
first of all
we have serious concerns about the scope
of and Authority for this inquiry as you
are aware the committee's powers to
investigate are not unlimited I'm quite
sure the committee is aware of its own
powers and the limits thereof
the Senate finance committee lacks a
legislative purpose in its request for
the list of gifts well let's see
maybe Congress should legislate more
robust and farther reaching Financial
disclosure requirements on Supreme Court
Justices and maybe they should legislate
and increase the penalties for knowing
obvious intentional transparent
violations of those financial disclosure
requirements maybe those penalties
should include significant periods of
incarceration if you violate the law and
you abuse the public trust and you
denigrate the legitimacy of the Supreme
Court
as Clarence Thomas has done frankly this
is a legislative purpose Palooza
let's take on Mr Bops next complaint
the committee also lacks the authority
to conduct a tax audit for the purpose
of determining whether Justice Thomas
complied with ethical standards the
chairman believes should apply in this
instance
so what now Harlan Crowe and his
attorney Mr bopper are also representing
the interests of Clarence Thomas they're
defending him they're suggesting he did
nothing wrong don't look at his tax
returns
whatever you do
don't check to see if Clarence Thomas
fully and accurately and truthfully
reported all of the income all of the
benefits the in-kind donations the
tuition payments that he should have
reported no need to pull back that
curtain
but Mr Bop goes on
Bob said that the panel's inquiry
targeting a Supreme Court Justice raises
substantial separation of powers
concerns
wow so now
Harlan Crowe is raising the Grievances
of a co-equal branch of government the
Judiciary the judicial branch Harlan
Crowe believes I guess he gets to assert
that Congress the legislative branches
overstepping its its bounds separation
of powers you have no right to interfere
in the judicial branches business now
what is it that gives Harlan Crowe
standing to assert the the rights and
grievances of the judicial branch of
government
I mean maybe he does feel like a
dues-paying member right with all of the
money and benefits he's lavished on a
Supreme Court Justice maybe he feels
like he's an honorary member of the
Supreme Court right I mean goodness
knows he's paid enough to have influence
there but still he doesn't get to assert
a separation of powers concern that's
really not for him to decide when a
senate committee is seeking information
you know that's generally something we
leave up to the courts
uh Harlan
all right let's just do one more
Bob says that Harlan Crowe has been
friends with the Thomases for more than
20 years Harlan Crowe has provided
Hospitality to the justice and his
family friends has anybody ever provided
you Hospitality that included buying
your mother's home and letting her live
there rent free and putting your kids
through private school
no Harlan Crowe wasn't trying to
purchase influence from a Supreme Court
Justice perished the thought
they're just Buddies
so what now
the answer is actually pretty simple
it's government 101 it's governing 101.
subpoena the information from Harlan
Crowe then subpoena him to testify
let him fight the subpoenas in court he
will lose
and then part two of the simple answer
governing 101 the Department of Justice
should open an investigation
in what seemed to be pretty obvious
violations of public Financial
disclosure laws by Clarence Thomas
you know the integrity and legitimacy of
the United States Supreme Court is too
important not to investigate
Thomas's obvious transgressions
and
because Justice
matters
gloves off
friends gloves off
as always please stay safe please stay
tuned and I look forward to talking with
you all again soon
[Music]

[admin]

Lawrence: Why does Clarence Thomas’s billionaire friend own ‘the garden of evil’ & Hitler’s teapot?
by Lawrence O'Donnell
MSNBC
May 22, 2023 #msnbc #clarencethomas #harlancrow
MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell discusses GOP billionaire mega donor Harlan Crow’s defense of his relationship with Clarence Thomas, his collection of Nazi memorabilia and the statues of dictators that fill his "garden of evil."



Transcript

thank you
the owner of the Garden of Evil wants to
assure you
but the one thing he has never done in
his Garden of Evil
is discuss Supreme Court opinions with
Clarence Thomas
who is his best friend
Harlan Crowe and Clarence Thomas have
not used the term best friend to
describe one another but how could
Clarence Thomas ever
have a better friend
Texas billionaire Harlan Crowe who calls
his backyard The Garden of Evil because
it is populated with statues of some of
the most evil men in history
has allowed Clarence Thomas to live more
of the life of a billionaire than any of
us ever will the trips on the private
jets the trips on the yacht and Harlan
Crowe has pumped money directly into the
joint income of Clarence Thomas and his
wife Harlan Crowe contributed more than
enough money to fully fund Virginia
Thomas's salary at one of the places she
once worked and Harlan Khloe allows
Clarence Thomas's mother to live rent
free in a house that Harlan Crow bought
from Clarence Thomas
putting some of the purchase price of
that house directly into Clarence
Thomas's pocket Harlan Crowe then fixed
up the house now Clarence Thomas's
mother is living at no expense at all to
Clarence Thomas all thanks to the best
friend a Supreme Court Justice could
ever have as long as that Justice does
not mind being exposed as the most
corrupt Supreme Court Justice the court
has ever had
if there has been a more corrupt Supreme
Court Justice than Clarence Thomas
then that corruption
has remained Secret
no such corruption has ever been made
public
in an interview with the Atlantic
published today Harlan Crowe expresses
astonishment that anyone could ever be
concerned about the Integrity of
Clarence Thomas
I have never nor would I ever think
about talking about matters that relate
to the Judiciary with Justice Clarence
Thomas Crowe said he told the Atlantic
they talk about things like the weather
and sports and then decided to amend
that after the interview in an email
saying quote it is not realistic for two
people to be friends and not talk about
their jobs from time to time Thomas has
spoken to him of his fondness for his
clerics or about bumping into Justice
Stephen Breyer at Target but Crow wrote
that it would be wrong
for him to talk about court cases from
my point of view that is off limits he
and I don't go there and so if you're
comfortable
taking Texas billionaire Harlan Crowe's
word for it there's nothing to be
worried about
but it is hard to be comfortable with
anything that Harlan Crowe says
including quote the kids used to be
scared of them
that's what he said about the statues in
his Garden of Evil which include Lennon
and Starlin and other dictators from
around the world dead dictators
what manner of man
puts statues
of evildoers in his garden and then
enjoys them
what kind of father leaves them there
knowing that his kids
are scared by them
wandering around the Garden of Evil
Harlan Crowe told his Atlantic
interviewer quote I'm not looking to be
odd well he has failed miserably
the Atlantic makes the mistake of
printing the line he feels he has acted
with the purest and most honorable
intentions no one at the Atlantic knows
what Harlan Crowe feels but this is
exactly the kind of misconception that
access journalism always produces you
will see that kind of reporting in the
New York Times and everywhere that
access journalism is practiced the
journalistically correct way to deliver
that line would be to say he claims
he has acted with the purest and most
honorable intentions that leaves open
the possibility that he did act with the
purest and most honorable intentions and
it leaves open the possibility that he
didn't but the Atlantic has decided to
remove your option as a reader and
present to you as a fact that the
Atlantic knows what Harlan Crowe feels
the more you know about him the more
impossible it is to know what he feels
what would you feel
holding Hitler's teapot in your hand
could you do it
if you were in a room and were told
that was Hitler's teapot
would you touch it
would you want to
would your fingers be drawn to the
handle of that teapot that brought
Comfort to Adolf Hitler while he was
Exterminating six million Jews in his
death camps
what would it feel like to touch that
handle
if you dared
Harlan Crow knows
he owns the teapot
he claims it's important that such
things be preserved but do they need to
be preserved in his home
couldn't he after paying a Billionaire's
ransom for Hitler's teapot and pictures
painted by Hitler and Hitler's table
Linens couldn't Harlan Crow donate them
to the appropriate Archive of such
material
why own them
why have them in your home why sleep
under the same roof with Hitler's
possessions things Hitler touched
can the Atlantic tell us what Harlan
Crowe feels
when his hand grips
Hitler's teapot
can the Atlantic tell us what Harlan
Crowe feels when he falls asleep in a
house where he knows Hitler's paintings
are peacefully residing with him
Harlan Crowe decided to take Hitler's
paintings out of their normal display
position when he was doing a fundraiser
for failed presidential candidate Marco
Rubio in 2015. congresswoman Debbie
Wasserman Schultz complained then
publicly that Marco Rubio was going into
a home with Hitler's paintings for a
fundraiser so only in 2015 did it occur
to Harlan crow that maybe Hitler's
paintings shouldn't be on prominent
public display in his home
now the biggest most prominent painting
on display in his home is a portrait of
his best friend Clarence Thomas which
seems hardly controversial at all when
the alternative would be having Hitler's
paintings hanging there instead
Harlan Crowe owns a copy of Hitler's
book Mein Kampf signed by Adolf Hitler
so when Harlan Crowe is holding Hitler's
book in his hands he knows that Hitler
himself held this particular copy
of this book in his hands
I think I might feel as if my hands were
on fire
if I were forced to touch that book
how does Harlan Crowe feel
when he holds Hitler's book signed
by Hitler
we don't know
the Atlantic doesn't know
Harlan Crowe tells the Atlantic it's
kind of weird to think that if you're a
Justice on the Supreme Court you can't
have friends of course you can have
friends if you're on the Supreme Court
they all have friends
that's not the issue but it is entirely
possible that Harlem Crowe is not
intelligent enough
to actually see what the real issue is
Harlan Crowe was not asked if he thinks
there's the slightest chance that he
would have befriended Clarence Thomas if
Clarence Thomas were not a Supreme Court
Justice Harlan Pro went out of his way
to meet Clarence Thomas by giving him a
ride on his private jet in the fourth
year of Clarence Thomas's service on the
Supreme Court
he says they have discovered we share a
love of Motown
our own Crow complains to the Atlantic
if I go out and help an old lady across
the street this afternoon there'll be
something written about my diabolical
purpose and evil intent
has he ever helped an old lady across
the street
would he help her across the street
if she were not a Supreme Court Justice
despite his attempts to appear normal
and sound normal Harlan Crowe is indeed
somewhere far beyond
odd
about the Hitler paintings and Hitler
possessions in his home Harlan Crowe
told the Atlantic the idea that I might
offend somebody particularly somebody I
care about one of my friends with this
stuff that hurts I would never want to
do that Harlan Crowe was not asked if he
has any Jewish friends
did he think Debbie Wasserman Schultz
was kidding
when she publicly expressed her offense
but Harlan Crowe gave Hitler's paintings
and his teapot a happy home
Harlan Crowe was born in Texas in 1947
he was educated in the Deep South at the
height of the Civil Rights Movement how
did he feel about that
the Atlantic doesn't know and the
Atlantic didn't ask he went to college
in Atlanta while Martin Luther King was
preaching to his Atlanta congregation
across town Martin Luther King Jr was
the most famous person living in Atlanta
when Harlan Crowe went to college there
what did Harlan Crowe think about Martin
Luther King
the Atlantic did not ask
one of Harlan Crowe's neighbors is
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones here is
Jerry Jones in Little Rock Arkansas when
President Eisenhower used the American
Military to force the integration of a
public high school there
Jerry Jones was among the protesters
Jerry Jones was there to protest
integration and cheer on and try to
maintain
segregation
what was Harlan Crowe doing that day
what was he feeling as the whole country
watched
that horrible display of racism in
Little Rock Arkansas that day the whole
country was watching
has Harlan Crowe ever talked to his
neighbor Jerry Jones about that day
there are no segregationists in Harlan
Crow's Garden of Evil there are no
American slave owners in Harlan Pro's
Garden of Evil Harlan Crowe claims to
abhor Donald Trump
but there is no Trump statue
In The Garden of Evil
[Music]
thank you