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- Clarence Thomas claims that he needed to use private jets in the wake of the Dobbs decision leak.
- The justice's claim appears on his latest financial disclosure form which was released on Thursday.
- Thomas' use of private jets and acceptance of lavish trips has received significant scrutiny.
Justice Clarence Thomas said that his use of private jets in 2022 was partially due to the "increased security risk" after the unprecedented leak of the Supreme Court's draft opinion of their decision that would later gut nationwide abortion rights.
"With advice of the Administrative Office, flights were reported as advised. Because of the increased security risk following the Dobbs opinion leak, the May flights were by private plane for official travel as filer's security detail recommended noncommercial travel whenever possible," Thomas wrote in his latest financial disclosure filed earlier this month and publicly released on Thursday.
Thomas' finances have been the subject of intense scrutiny in the wake of ProPublica's bombshell reporting after his relationship with GOP megadonor Harlan Crow and other wealth financiers.
ProPublica uncovered evidence of lavish trips that Thomas and his wife received from their friends but that the justice never disclosed on his past disclosure forms. Congressional Democrats have called for sweeping Supreme Court ethics reform in the wake of those disclosures.
Thomas' reference to the Dobbs leak underlines how Politico's publication of Justice Samuel Alito's then-draft opinion continues to overshadow the high court. Chief Justice John Roberts ordered an official probe into the leak, but investigators were unable to definitely determine the source(s) of the opinion.
Protestors later marched by the conservative justices' homes in the DC area following the leak and later the Supreme Court's final opinion that reversed Roe v. Wade. Security fences were erected around the court itself. A man who wanted to murder Justice Brett Kavanaugh was later arrested near the justice's home.
In the face of criticism, Thomas has argued that he did nothing wrong by failing to previously report his trips with Crow and others. In his latest filing, Thomas references how the guidance he received has changed.
"As relates to the personal hospitality reporting exemption, filer has included all reportable travel on his Calendar Year 2022 Report, in accordance with the new rules that went into effect on March 14, 2023, as advised by the Supreme Court's Legal Office, the Counselor to the Chief Justice, the staff of the Judicial Conference Financial Disclosure Committee, and personal counsel," he wrote.