In his article about Kathy Crow ’89 (December issue), Christian Red quotes Cornell West *80 as bemoaning our “toxic culture” in which “everybody distrusts” Crow’s billionaire husband Harlan because he gave lavish gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
What a naïve view of our politics and society! The recent Senate Judiciary Committee report (Dec. 21, 2024) on the ethical crisis at the Supreme Court shows clearly that Thomas accepted such gifts but ignored his legal obligation to disclose them. Justice Sam Alito ’72 apparently did the same.
Why did Thomas keep the gifts secret? If Harlan Crow were not trying to manipulate his friend Justice Thomas, he should have either not made such gifts or made sure that they were reported. And he should have insisted that Thomas recuse himself from any case in which Crow had even an indirect interest.
Sadly, the behavior of Crow, Thomas, and Alito suggests possible corruption and seems to reflect our nation’s slide into plutocracy and oligarchy. We should hope for better.
In his article about Kathy Crow ’89 (December issue), Christian Red quotes Cornell West *80 as bemoaning our “toxic culture” in which “everybody distrusts” Crow’s billionaire husband Harlan because he gave lavish gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
What a naïve view of our politics and society! The recent Senate Judiciary Committee report (Dec. 21, 2024) on the ethical crisis at the Supreme Court shows clearly that Thomas accepted such gifts but ignored his legal obligation to disclose them. Justice Sam Alito ’72 apparently did the same.
Why did Thomas keep the gifts secret? If Harlan Crow were not trying to manipulate his friend Justice Thomas, he should have either not made such gifts or made sure that they were reported. And he should have insisted that Thomas recuse himself from any case in which Crow had even an indirect interest.
Sadly, the behavior of Crow, Thomas, and Alito suggests possible corruption and seems to reflect our nation’s slide into plutocracy and oligarchy. We should hope for better.