Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at the Heritage Foundation on October 21, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images.)
New allegations of ethical violations linked to Justice Clarence Thomas surfaced Wednesday when The Guardian reported that seven lawyers with high-profile cases before the Supreme Court made Venmo payments to Thomas' aide, some with the justice's initials in the subject line.
According to the report, several of the attorneys made payments to Rajan Vasisht, a lawyer who served as Thomas' aide from July 2019 to July 2021. The payments did not show the amount, but in each case, the subject line indicated a connection to a Christmas party hosted by Thomas. Screenshots of now-deleted public transactions between the lawyers and Vasisht listing "Christmas party", "Thomas Christmas Party", "CT Christmas Party" or "CT Xmas party" were linked to the piece.
The lawyers named in the story were:
- Patrick Strawbridge, a partner at Consovoy McCarthy who argued and won the case in which the Court struck down Harvard's affirmative-action admissions program.
- Kate Todd, White House deputy counsel and SCOTUS-hopeful under Donald Trump and former Thomas clerk.
- Elbert Lin, former solicitor general of West Virginia who was involved in the Environmental Protection Agency's case before the Court involving regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.
- Brian Schmalzbach, a former Thomas clerk and partner at McGuire Woods involved in the Second Amendment case in which Thomas and the majority struck down New York's pistol laws.
- Manuel Valle, Thomas' clerk last year and now an associate at Sidley Austin, involved in death penalty cases before the Court.
- Liam Hardy, a lawyer for the Department of Justice at the time the payment was made, now a military appeals court judge nominated by Donald Trump.
William Consovoy, a former Trump attorney and powerhouse conservative lawyer who died earlier this year, also made a payment.
The suggestion that the Venmo transactions between lawyers and Vasisht constitutes an ethics concern comes on the heels of reports that Thomas' close relationship with billionaire Harlan Crow violated judicial standards of conduct.
Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, called news of the Venmo transactions "ridiculous" in a tweet.
How many other justices have a Venmo account? And how many D.C. lawyers use it?
Everywhere else in America, people pay for their own Christmas party. This is ridiculous.Lawyers with supreme court business paid Clarence Thomas aide via Venmo https://t.co/AyAZYdSJCq
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) July 12, 2023
"Judges and their clerks should not collect money from lawyers for any reason," Painter said in another tweet. "Who does Justice Thomas think he is, a teenage kid having a bar mitzvah or a graduation party?"
As I said here, judges and their clerks should not collect money from lawyers for any reason. Who does Justice Thomas think he is, a teenage kid having a bar mitzvah or a graduation party?https://t.co/AyAZYdSJCq
— Richard W. Painter (@RWPUSA) July 12, 2023
Law&Crime reached out to the lawyers who were said to have made Venmo payments, but none immediately responded to a request for comment.
Vasisht could not be reached for comment.
The Supreme Court has rarely commented, even indirectly, on allegations of ethical breaches by justices. However, that changed Tuesday when the Court responded in detail to media inquiries about Justice Sonia Sotomayor's earnings from publishing deals. Neither Thomas nor any other member of the Court has commented on the alleged Venmo transactions.
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