The report says that some trips Thomas took with the Crows were also attended by executives of major corporations as well as a leader of a conservative think tank, the American Enterprise Institute. They are sitting together smoking cigars in the painting.

The ProPublica report described a portrait hanging at a New York property owned by Crow’s company that depicts Thomas, Crow and other influential figures in Republican politics, including Leo, the former Federalist Society head who played a crucial role in former President Donald Trump’s makeover of the federal bench. “If you’re smoking cigars with Leonard Leo and other right-wing fixers, you should know they don’t just have business before the Court - their business IS the Court.” “Oh, please,” tweeted Whitehouse, who chairs a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that oversees the federal bench. Sheldon Whitehouse zeroing in on Thomas’ assurance that the Crows did not have business before the high court. Thomas’ critics quickly pushed back on his defense Friday, with Democratic Sen. Some of these trips reportedly included travel on Crow’s super yacht or stays at properties owned by Crow or his company. The ProPublica report describes Thomas accepting travel hospitality from Crow that included lavish trips to Indonesia, New Zealand, California, Texas and Georgia. “And, it is, of course, my intent to follow this guidance in the future,” Thomas said. The justice notes that the guidelines for reporting personal hospitality have been recently changed. How a trio of ProPublica reporters landed an explosive story on Justice Clarence Thomas

Associate US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas poses for the official photo at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on October 7, 2022.

Has that effect on me