Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked Harlan Crow, the GOP megadonor and friend of Clarence Thomas whose gifts to the Supreme Court justice have prompted fresh criticism about the ethical standards of the nation's highest court, for more information about the expenditures.
In a letter on Monday, Judiciary Democrats requested information from Crow on all gifts and payments that exceed $415 that were given to any justice of the Supreme Court or family member as well as an itemized list of real estate transactions and trips.
Judiciary Democrats also sent letters on Monday to the holding companies that own Crow's private jet, private yacht and Topridge Camp "seeking to identify the full extent of Mr. Crow's and the corporations' gifts to Justice Thomas."
"The appearance of special access to the Justices—that is not available to all Americans— is corrosive to the legitimacy of the Court because, at minimum, it creates an appearance of undue influence that undermines the public's trust in the Court's impartiality," the letters state.
The letters also state that the recent revelations come amid a lack of American confidence in the Supreme Court, pointing to recent polling.
Each letter requests that necessary information be shared no later than May 22.
Meanwhile, Crow is declining to provide information sought in a separate letter by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, a spokesperson for the Oregon Democrat said Tuesday.
Wyden, who is examining whether the gifts could have triggered violations of US tax law, sent a series of questions to Crow last month inquiring about trips over the years that the megadonor paid for on his private plane and super yacht that Thomas chose not to list on his financial disclosure forms.
The ratcheting concern about the court's ethics stems from ProPublica reporting that revealed Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, had gone on several luxury trips involving travel subsidized by and stays at properties owned by Crow and a 2014 real estate deal that involved the sale of three properties in Savannah, Georgia, that were owned by Thomas and his relatives to the megadonor.
Thomas had not financially disclosed the hospitality from or the deal with the Texas billionaire.
Thomas has previously said he followed the advice of others in deciding what required disclosure and in a statement last month, noted that that Crow did not have business before the court.
A source close to Thomas previously told CNN that the justice plans to amend his disclosure forms to reflect the real estate transaction, which also went unreported.
ProPublica additionally reported last week that Crow paid boarding school tuition for Thomas' grandnephew, Mark Martin, who lived with the justice's family as a child and for whom Thomas became a legal guardian.
Democrats have vowed to keep investigating the ethics of the nation's highest court, and Chief Justice John Roberts declined an invitation to testify at a hearing on Supreme Court ethics.
Speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin said "everything is on the table" as the panel scrutinizes new ethics concerns around Thomas.
