Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas failed to disclose an additional two flights he took on Republican donor Harlan Crow's private jet, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chair of the Senate Finance Committee, said Monday.
In a letter to Crow's attorney, Wyden said he is seeking additional information about gifts Crow provided to Thomas, citing concern Crow used the gifts to lower his tax bills, The Washington Post reported.
Crow has lavished gifts on Thomas before, including paying for private school tuition for a relative and purchasing a home for Thomas' mother in Georgia, the Post reported.
"The questions I've been asking of Mr. Crow and Justice Thomas about these luxury trips and lavish gifts are not really all that complicated," Wyden said in a statement to the Post. "How many of these trips happened, and when it comes to Mr. Crow's taxes, is everything on the level or did he claim a whole lot of personal travel as write-offs?"
Wyden wrote that Crow's attorney has failed to address the "simple question" of whether Crow claimed tax deductions as a result of these trips, Axios reported.
"Any effort to mischaracterize expenses from trips involving personal hospitality as business expenses is a run of the mill tax scam, plain and simple," he wrote.
Thomas and his wife traveled roundtrip from Hawaii to New Zealand aboard Crow's plane in Nov. 2010, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection documents. The flights were not listed on Thomas' financial disclosure forms, Wyden said. New ethics rules require justices to report such travel.
A spokesman for Crow said Wyden was harassing a private citizen.
"Mr. Crow and his businesses are in good standing with the IRS," Michael Zona told the Post. "He has always followed applicable tax law as advised by national accounting firms who serve as his tax advisors. It's concerning that Senator Wyden is abusing his committee's powers as part of a politically motivated campaign against the Supreme Court."
Crow has paid for 17 flights for Thomas aboard his private jet since 2016, the Senate Judiciary Committee said in June. Crow also paid for Thomas' trips to Bali, according to his financial disclosure forms.
The Supreme Court did not respond to an immediate request for comment.