US SC justice defends lavish trips as ‘personal hospitality’

WASHINGTON: US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas defended himself on Friday over accusations that he accepted years of luxury travel trips from a Republican billionaire, saying that it was “personal hospitality” that did not need to be registered.

Staunch conservative Thomas was a guest of megadonor Harlan Crow for yachting in New Zealand, private jet flights across the globe and regular stays at Crow´s properties in the United States, the ProPublica news outlet reported.

In a statement, Thomas said that judicial colleagues had previously “advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”