‘Personal hospitality’ deemed acceptable by Clarence Thomas of US Supreme Court for luxurious trips

US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is defending himself against accusations that he accepted luxury travel trips from a Republican billionaire without registering them.

Thomas argues that the trips were “personal hospitality” and therefore did not need to be reported.

Thomas, a staunch conservative and the longest-serving justice on the court, went on a trip to Indonesia that cost $500,000.

The trips were with megadonor Harlan Crow, who has donated more than $10 million to Republican political groups, including half a million dollars to a conservative lobbying group founded by Thomas’ wife Ginni Thomas.

ProPublica reported the details of the trips, prompting outrage from some judges and Democrat politicians, as well as calls for fundamental changes in how the Supreme Court is run.