DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Senate probe zeroes in on Harlan Crow tax deductions for superyacht used for Clarence Thomas vacations
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-06 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

How Crow uses his 160 foot yacht has drawn the attention of Senate Finance Committee investigators, who are probing Crow's financial and personal ties to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Thomas and his wife Ginni Thomas have taken several cruises aboard the ship, the Michaela Rose, including trips around Indonesia and New Zealand. Rochelle Charter, Inc., which was formed by the Crow family to lease out the yacht, reported tax-deductible business losses in 10 of the 13 years for which ProPublic has records. In order for business losses to be deducted from federal income taxes, a company must be engaged in an actual business with paying customers. "Mr. Crow engages professional accounting firms to prepare his tax returns and complies with tax law in good faith.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Al Drago, Harlan Crow's, Crow, Thomas, Ginni Thomas, Michaela Rose, Ron Wyden, Sen, Erin Scott, ProPublic, Wyden, Harlan Crow, Mr Organizations: U.S, Supreme, White, Washington , D.C, Bloomberg, Getty Images WASHINGTON — Billionaire, IRS, CNBC, Finance, Democratic, Reuters Tax, Inc, Internal Revenue Service Locations: Washington ,, Indonesia, New Zealand, Washington, Rochelle

☆ Sen. Durbin renews call for a Supreme Court code of conduct amid ethics concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin called on the Supreme Court to create a code of conduct as its new term begins Monday. Durbin for about a dozen years has, without success, asked the Supreme Court to adopt an enforceable code of conduct. Supreme Court justices are the only federal judges who are exempt from the official ethics rules. The Supreme Court has been under scrutiny this year because of media reports about justices receiving luxury travel, gifts, and other benefits. Durbin earlier this year asked Chief Justice John Roberts to appear before the Judiciary Committee to discuss Supreme Court ethics after the articles were first published.

Persons: Amy Coney Barrett, Neil M, Gorsuch, Brett M, Kavanaugh, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sonia Sotomayor, Clarence Thomas, John G, Roberts, Jr, Samuel A, Alito, Elena Kagan, Dick Durbin, Durbin, ProPublica, Harlan Crow's, Samuel Alito, Paul, John Roberts Organizations: Supreme, WASHINGTON, Elliott Management Locations: Washington, WASHINGTON —, Argentina

CNN —Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed Thursday that Republican megadonor Harlan Crow paid for private jet trips for Thomas in 2022 to attend a speech in Texas and a vacation at Crow’s luxurious New York estate, as ethics questions continue to rock the Supreme Court. Thomas made the disclosures after receiving an extension to file the yearly reports that were originally due in May 2023. In a statement after the ProPublica report, Thomas acknowledged the friendship but stressed that Crow did not have business before the court. In addition, he said that he should have disclosed a 2014 private real estate deal between Crow, Thomas and members of Thomas’ family. According to the disclosure, Thomas flew down to be the keynote speaker of the event in February, but returned via private jet “due to an unexpected ice storm.”The talk was rescheduled in May and Thomas rode round trip on Crow’s plane.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crow, Thomas, Dobbs, Roe, Wade, “, Crow, Samuel Alito, ProPublica, Thomas ’, ” Thomas, Virginia Thomas, Leola Williams, Williams, VII, –, Elliot S, Berke, Thomas “, ”, Sen, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chip Somodevilla, Elena Kagan, Alito, ” Alito, Gabe Roth, he’s, ” Roth, Rome Alito, Duke Organizations: CNN, Republican, Judicial Conference, Old Parkland Conference, Hoover Institution, Manhattan Institute, American Enterprise Institute, Black Americans, Crow Holdings, Democrats, Supreme, Capitol, Rhode Island, Wall Street, Notre Dame, School’s, Liberty Initiative, Religious Liberty Summit, Regent University School of Law, Duke Law School Locations: Texas, New York, Georgia, Savannah , Georgia, Washington ,, Rome

☆ Harlan Crow's jaunts on his yacht with Justice Clarence Thomas were a 'textbook billionaire tax scam,' Sen. Ron Wyden tells ProPublica
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Justice Clarence Thomas and GOP megadonor Harlan Crow's yacht trips have come under scrutiny again. Per ProPublica, Crow registered his yacht as a charter vessel but only took close friends on trips. As a result, he could pay his own company, report losses, and save on his tax bill, per ProPublica. Some of those were trips aboard Crow's yacht, the Michaela Rose, and were organized through Rochelle Charter, a company registered to charter the yacht. In April, Crow and Thomas first faced scrutiny related to the 20 years worth of undisclosed trips Crow is accused of gifting to Thomas, per ProPublica.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, Harlan, Per, Crow, Thomas, Michaela Rose, Ron Wyden, ProPublica, gifting, Thomas —, — Organizations: Service, Privacy, ProPublica, Dallas Morning News, Democrats Locations: Wall, Silicon, Rochelle

☆ Democratic lawmakers seek Supreme Court investigation into Clarence Thomas
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jonathan Allen | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, left, talks to Chief Justice John Roberts during the formal group photograph at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Oct. 7, 2022. A group of 18 House Democrats wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts Tuesday urging him to establish an independent investigative arm within the Supreme Court — and pressing for that office to probe Justice Clarence Thomas' relationship with a wealthy GOP donor. The Goldman letter recommends the establishment within the court of an "independent investigative body" that can provide transparency and accountability by probing "alleged ethical improprieties." After the Thomas story broke in April, Roberts declined Senate Judiciary Chairman Richard Durbin's request for him to appear before the panel to discuss Supreme Court ethics. Roberts is under no obligation to respond to the Goldman letter, much less create new institutions within the court.

Persons: Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Dan Goldman, Roberts, ProPublica, Thomas, Harlan Crow's, Samuel Alito, Paul Singer, Neil Gorsuch, Greenberg Traurig, Goldman, Alito, Mitch McConnell, Justice Thomas, Richard Durbin's Organizations: Democrats, Rep, NBC, GOP, Politico, Democratic, Republican Locations: Washington , DC, Alaska, Ky

The Democratic-led Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the subject in May. Crow, a major Republican donor, last month, rejected the panel's request for a meeting. Separately, Bopp declined to provide another Democratic-led Senate panel, the Finance Committee, any personal financial information about Crow, it said. In a statement, the panel accused Crow of "stonewalling" and "doubling down on bogus legal theories." The news outlet ProPublica has detailed the ties between Thomas and Crow.

Persons: Harlan Crow's, Clarence Thomas, Thomas, Crow, Crow's, Michael Bopp, Dick Durbin, Sheldon Whitehouse, Bopp, Ron Wyden, Neil Gorsuch, Susan Heavey, Kanishka Singh, Will Dunham Organizations: U.S, Supreme, Republican, Democratic, Finance Committee, Finance, Politico, Thomson Locations: Texas, Colorado

☆ The same year Clarence Thomas sent a child to a private boarding school on Harlan Crow's dime, a parent testified that the academy used children for free labor
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Grace Eliza Goodwin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The school Clarence Thomas sent a child to has been accused of forcing students into hard labor. A ProPublica report found that Harlan Crow footed the school's $6,000-a-month bill for Thomas. Thomas has been accused of judicial misconduct for not reporting gifts he received from Crow. These activities could go on "for as long as 8 hours," the parent wrote. Justice Thomas has been accused of judicial misconduct after a series of reports from ProPublica detailed his acceptance of unreported lavish gifts from Crow.

☆ One of Harlan Crow's Hitler paintings from his collection of Nazi memorabilia is likely a fake, according to two top experts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Jack Newsham | Katherine Long | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

But one of his supposed Hitler paintings appears to be fake, two experts told Insider. Harlan Crow's little-seen Hitler art collectionLittle is known about Crow's collection. Insider spoke with a person who attended a 2014 tour of Crow's library, led by Crow's personal librarian, who confirmed that he saw the Hitler watercolor in Crow's collection. The US Army has four Hitler paintings in storage, Renee Klish, a retired Army curator, told Insider. Panagopulos of Alexander Historical Auctions, who has often disagreed with Droog, also said it was doubtful that Crow's painting was genuine.

☆ Clarence Thomas didn't recuse himself from a 2004 appeal tied to Harlan Crow's family business, per Bloomberg
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Clarence Thomas previously said his friend Harlan Crow had no business before the court. But a case involving Trammell Crow Residential made its way to the Supreme Court in 2005, per Bloomberg. Harlan Crow was CEO of Crow Holdings from 1988 to 2017, and remains chair of its board, per Bloomberg and The Real Deal. "At the time of this case, Trammell Crow Residential operated completely independently of Crow Holdings with a separate management team and its own independent operations," the statement to Bloomberg said. Neither Harlan Crow nor Crow Holdings had knowledge of or involvement in this case, and a search of Crow Holding's legal records reveals no involvement in this case.

☆ GOP senators defend Clarence Thomas' billionaire benefactor's Nazi memorabilia collection: 'Harlan Crow's a terrific person'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The GOP megadonor also keeps Nazi artifacts at his Dallas home, where he's hosted fundraisers. In interviews with Insider at the Capitol on Tuesday, several of them defended the Republican megadonor amid broad scrutiny of his taste in historical artifacts. The Texas senator argued that the media is "deliberately" mischaracterizing the nature of Crow's collection in order to tarnish Justice Thomas' reputation. 'He's not a drug dealer or cocaine trafficker'Crow also collects other historical artifacts, including thousands of documents, books, and historical artifacts pertaining to American history. But when asked about Crow's Nazi memorabilia and dictator sculptures, Ernst said she had "no idea" about it.

WHO IS HARLAN CROW? Crow, 74, is the chairman and former CEO of Crow Holdings, a Texas-based family real estate firm established to manage the capital of the Trammell Crow family. While his net worth is unclear, Crow Holdings had $19.6 billion in assets under management in 2020. Harlan Crow was pivotal in restructuring the company’s debt in the 1980s, saving it from bankruptcy, according to media reports. HARLAN CROW'S POLITICAL LEANINGSCrow has a history of donating to conservative causes.

☆ Meet Harlan Crow, Clarence Thomas' vacation pal, GOP megadonor, and billionaire Texas real estate magnate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-07 | by ( Madison Hall | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Texas real estate magnate Harlan Crow provided lavish vacations to Justice Clarence Thomas. Born in 1949 in Dallas, Texas, Crow is a 74-year-old real estate developer and the chairman of Crow Holdings, a Dallas-based real estate development and investment firm that was started by his father, Trammell Crow. Before his death in 2009, Trammell Crow was once one of the nation's most prominent real estate developers and landlords. What's his relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas? He also donated $105,000 to Thomas' alma mater, Yale Law School, for the "Justice Thomas Portrait Fund."

☆ GOP billionaire who funded Clarence Thomas's vacations has also given thousands of dollars to Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

GOP megadonor Harlan Crow has been secretly funding lavish vacations for Justice Clarence Thomas. But he's also given thousands to Democrats who've stymied the party's agenda at various times. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, as well as Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Henry Cuellar. According to federal campaign finance data, the Texas billionaire has given $16,800 to Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey since 2018, contributing thousands as recently as October 2022. For his part, Crow told ProPublica in a statement that he and his wife "have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue."

Search resuls for: "Harlan Crow's"

13 mentions found