Justice Elena Kagan was worried about the ethics of accepting bagels from friends, while Clarence Th

Publish date: 2024-08-04
2023-05-11T10:45:59Z

At a time when Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was accepting lavish trips paid for by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, fellow Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan was turning down bagels and lox from high school friends, over concerns she could be violating the court's ethics rules for accepting gifts, according to a new report.

Forward reported that friends who attended Hunter College High School in Manhattan with Kagan in the 1970s wanted to send her a "care package" of bagels, lox, babka, chocolates, and other inexpensive items in February 2021.

However, they later scrapped the idea after Kagan expressed concerns about issues it could pose under the Supreme Court's rules on gifts and disclosures, per Forward.

"We thought it would be a sign of support to send her some lox, but she was too ethical to take the lox," said Sarah Schulman, a former school friend, according to the media outlet.

Another Hunter College High School alumnus, Ann Starer, told the Forward that Kagan was touched by the offer but it was "creating more stress for her than it was worth."

She said that Kagan sent her an email, which reportedly said: "I have to take these ethics and reporting considerations very seriously."

Kagan's approach seems to directly contrast with that of Thomas when it comes to accepting gifts. 

A series of bombshell ProPublica reports have put Thomas at the center of an ongoing scandal involving Crow, a Texas billionaire.

According to the reports, Crow financed expensive trips that Thomas took part in for more than two decades, purchased his mother's home and didn't charge her rent, and paid for a child in the justice's custody to attend a $6,000-a-month private boarding school.

Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, all federal judges, including Supreme Court justices, are required to file annual financial disclosures that include reporting on gifts received. But they are exempt from disclosing "personal hospitality" they receive, which covers food, lodging, and entertainment.

And unlike the rest of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court is not bound by a code of conduct.

Top Democrats have called on the Supreme Court to investigate Thomas, as well as calling on the court to adopt a public code of ethics.

The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Watch: Why Clarence Thomas' lavish vacations with a GOP donor are in the spotlight

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