Equivalent, that is, to the excursions detailed in a lengthy report about Justice Clarence Thomas released last year. Thanks to conservative billionaire Harlan Crow, Thomas had been treated to luxury vacations and travel over the course of years — largesse that Thomas had failed to disclose publicly.
As it turns out, that wasn’t all. The Senate Judiciary Committee, investigating Thomas’s travel, obtained information from attorneys representing Crow detailing (among other things) nine flights that Thomas took on Crow’s private jet, a Bombardier Global 5000. In total, those trips covered some 33,000 miles, thanks in part to a round-trip excursion to Indonesia that was included in the initial ProPublica report.
The disclosure made to the Senate committee describes five discrete trips.
The first was in May 2017. Then, Thomas flew on Crow’s jet from St. Louis to Kalispell, Mont., the point of access to Glacier National Park. Two days later, Thomas flew from Montana to Dallas. Crow has a home just north of the city.
The next trip was in March 2019. Thomas flew on Crow’s plane from D.C. to Savannah. That’s where Thomas’s mother lives — in a house that Crow purchased from her and her son. (In a statement to ProPublica, Crow said that he planned to make the residence part of a museum dedicated to the Supreme Court justice.)
Then there was that Indonesia trip, one that also included an outing on Crow’s yacht. It was in June and July of 2019.
Later that July, Thomas flew on Crow’s jet from D.C. to Santa Rosa, Calif. That city is just east of the Bohemian Grove, a private men’s club frequented by Crow and other conservatives.
Then, on June 29, 2021, Thomas flew on Crow’s jet from D.C. to San Jose. It’s not clear why.
The company Liberty Jet provides private-jet services on demand, including use of a Bombardier Global 5000 like the one owned by Crow. It estimates a per-mile cost of operation of between about $15 and $19, depending on how often the plane is used in a year.
That means that — had Thomas used Liberty instead of relying on Crow’s generosity — Thomas’s 33,000 miles in travel might have cost between $500,000 and $625,000.
Instead, it cost him nothing. At least monetarily.
