“Non-answers” provided by the attorney representing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas about a motor coach loan raise serious concerns over whether Thomas violated tax law, Senate Democrats said Thursday.
“At the moment, Justice Thomas has done absolutely nothing to address the perception that he may have failed to report hundreds of thousands of dollars in forgiven debt on his federal income tax returns,” said a letter sent to attorney Elliot Berke from Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
Wyden’s probe dates to last year when Finance released a memorandum alleging that healthcare executive Anthony Welters forgave an interest-only loan of $267,230 for the purchase of a motor coach. Wyden pushed Berke in a December letter, seeking more details and documents.
Instead of providing information stating the extent to which Thomas repaid the loan, Wyden said, Berke’s response stated Thomas made “payments to Mr. Welters on a regular basis until the terms of the agreement were satisfied in full.”
The Democrats called Berke’s response too vague and demanded more on how much Thomas paid, if any of the loan was canceled, and if Thomas disclosed anything related to the loan on his taxes.
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