A new report from ProPublica released this week revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas privately lobbied for a higher salary, and MSNBC host Chris Hayes unpacked the findings in a segment that concluded Thomas essentially had “a benefits package” from right-wing benefactors.
“It really looked from afar, as I read all this reporting and we followed it here on the show, essentially like some sort of arrangement – I would have guessed implicit or tacit – had been worked out through these benefactors,” Hayes said as he unpacked the reporting. “Thomas could stay on the Court instead of jumping ship to a fancy corporate lawfirm for a big payday and still live a life of enormous luxury.”
The MSNBC host then drilled down how Thomas was seemingly able to operate with what looked like two sources of income.
“All this stuff put together for Thomas is almost like a benefits package,” he continued. “The man could functionally operate with two sources of income and two sets of institutions he works for: the United States government that pays him his salary, the people of the United States, and then the right-wing movement that subsidizes the rest of his life.”
Additionally, ProPublica reported that Thomas privately implied to wealthy Republicans that he might leave the Court if he didn’t get some kind of pay raise. Thomas started “loudly complaining” about his financial situation back in 2000. He was making about $174,000 a year, which is equal to about $300,000 in today’s money, but he was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.
“Now we finally have evidence that not only is this theory true and this arrangement is what it appeared to be, but Thomas came about as close as you could possibly come to explicitly asking for it hat in hand,” Hayes said.
The host then connected all of this to Thomas’ current position on the Court as the prospect of Donald Trump facing justice for the Jan. 6 insurrection may be in their hands.
“So here we are, nearly a quarter of a century after Thomas essentially threatened to quit, he has become one of the most consequential right-wing justices of his era who has built a national conservative judicial movement that adheres to his ideological philosophy and that of his billionaire benefactors. And he is one of nine who will decide if the man who attempted a coup will get a bailout or if he will be brought to justice.”
