Annual financial disclosures revealed some of the perks of being on the Supreme Court, including international teaching and book sales.
Trips to lecture in Europe, Latin America and Hawaii. Millions of dollars in book deals. Income from teaching at prestigious law schools.
Supreme Court justices offered a window into some of the perks of being part of the nation’s highest court in their annual financial disclosures, which were released on Tuesday and covered the justices’ activities last year.
Under a federal law passed after the Watergate scandal in the 1970s, the justices must disclose gifts, travel and outside income. There has been increased scrutiny of the disclosures in recent years, particularly after revelations that Justice Clarence Thomas had failed to disclose years of lavish gifts and travel from wealthy friends, including the Texas billionaire Harlan Crow.
Justice Thomas has said he did not believe that he was required to disclose the gifts.
In his latest report, Justice Thomas listed no gifts or private jet travel. In an addendum, however, he wrote that he had “inadvertently omitted” a life insurance policy from prior reports. The policy, he noted, was purchased in July 2001 and terminated last month.
Justice Thomas indicated that the policy covered someone other than himself, and added that “confusion arose on whether the policy needed to be disclosed.”
He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The forms are only a few pages and provide limited details. But they often give colorful examples of the justices’ lives off the bench.
