Associate Justice Clarence Thomas requested a 90-day extension on his disclosure forms after ProPublica published a series of investigations into his acceptance of trips from a Republican megadonor. File Photo by Eric Lee/UPI |
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June 7 (UPI) -- Seven of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices released their financial disclosures on Wednesday, while Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito requested extensions.
Thomas requested a 90-day extension on his disclosure, The Hill reported. The move comes after a series of ProPublica investigations into gifts and trips he accepted from GOP megadonor Harlan Crow.
The disclosures will be Thomas's first since news of his relationship with Crow came to light.
"These will definitely be the most scrutinized Supreme Court disclosures since the disclosure law went into effect 40 years ago," Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, a Supreme Court watchdog, told ABC News. "That said, I think what people will take away from them is how many unanswered questions remain about the justices' lives outside of the courtroom and their potential entanglements."
Justice Sonia Sotomayor reported she received about $150,000 in book royalties from Penguin Random House.
Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett reported reimbursements for six speeches they gave last year.
Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh both reported about $30,000 from George Mason University.
And Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reported three gifts, including one from Oprah Winfrey.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts did not report gifts or outside income.
New rules this year mean that the justices will have to report the sources of free trips, meals and hospitality. However, they will not have to report the costs.
"The public should know that sort of thing," Roth told ABC. "There's a big difference between the Hardee's star and a Michelin star, and between the Ritz and the Radisson."
For the current year, associate justices make $285,400, while the chief justice receives $298,500.