U.S. Supreme Court
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The billionaire “friend” and Republican donor who treated Clarence Thomas to luxury trips is now embroiled in another scandal over his purported collection of Nazi memorabilia.
According to reports, the Supreme Court Justice and his wife, Ginni, have enjoyed luxury trips courtesy of Texas real estate magnate Harlan Crow for close to two decades. But a source has disclosed that Crow, who also owns an extensive collection of historical artifacts at his home, also has in that collection a disturbing amount of memorabilia from the Nazi regime.
In the article published last Friday (April 7th), the source recounted their shock at seeing the mementos while attending a function at the Republican megadonor’s home in Dallas. “It would have been helpful to have someone explain the significance of all the items. Without that context, you sort of just gasp when you walk into the room,” they said. They went on to describe three paintings in the collection, “something done by George W. Bush next to a Norman Rockwell next to one by Hitler.”
Apparently, Crow owns two landscape paintings done by the Nazi dictator in addition to other Nazi memorabilia which includes a signed copy of Mein Kampf, table linen, and a teapot owned by Hitler adorned with the regime’s insignia of an eagle with talons grasping the swastika. The rest of the collection also features artifacts from the antebellum period as well as statues of dictators such as Joseph Stalin and Josip Tito of Yugoslavia in a space noted as the “Garden of Evil” in a piece from 2014 and the death mask of Lakota nation leader Sitting Bull.
As word spread online of the billionaire’s disturbing collection, a collection of friends from the conservative and far-right world leaped to his defense on social media. These included the notorious scientific racist lecturer and The Bell Curve author Charles Murray, whom it was later revealed enjoys close ties to Crow through a think-tank partnership.
Justice Thomas contested the initial reports of his acceptance of those trips and not declaring it as required by a law instituted after the Watergate scandal. Crow issued a statement after the reports came out, claiming that he and his wife “have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue.” Crow has backed numerous cases that have come up before the Supreme Court, and the discovery of these lavish trips has many legal experts alleging that Thomas broke the law in a conflict of interest.
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In a surprise interview, Bill Cosby announced that he intends to go on a comeback tour when asked about his plans for next year.
Bill Cosby appeared as a surprise guest on the WGH Talk radio show Wednesday (Dec. 28). When asked by host Scott Spears if he’ll finally be able to tour again next year, the comedian simply replied, “yes.” He continued: “Yes, because there’s so much fun to be had in this storytelling that I do. Years ago, maybe 10 years ago, I found it was better to say it after I write it.”
The 85-year-old didn’t give a timeframe on when he would want to tour next year, but his publicist Andrew Wyatt did respond to an email from The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re looking at getting back out here around Spring/Summer of 2023,” he wrote. The move to tour is something that Cosby wants, as he hasn’t toured since 2015. “When I come out of this, I feel that I will be able to perform and be the Bill Cosby that my audience knows me to be,” he said during the interview.
Cosby had been convicted of a criminal sexual assault charge in April 2018. He’d go on to serve almost three years in prison out of a three to 10-year sentence before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2021. The court made the decision ruling that a “non-prosecution agreement” between Cosby and former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. prevented him from being charged in the case brought by Andrea Constant, his accuser.
The case was brought before the United States Supreme Court in March of this year, resulting in the court declining to reinstate his conviction. Cosby now faces another lawsuit filed under a New York State law that suspends the statute of limitations for older claims of sexual assault for a period of one year. The suit was filed by five plaintiffs including former The Cosby Show actresses Lili Bernard and Eden Tirl in early December. Wyatt called the lawsuit “frivolous.” “As we have always stated, and now America can see, this isn’t about justice for victims of alleged sexual assault, it’s ALL ABOUT MONEY,” he said in a statement made at the time.