How is This Not Bribery and Tax Evasion?

I have written earlier about how Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secured a personal loan from a rich friend to purchase a top of the line RV.

It appears that it was worse than initial reports because, that loan was forgiven, turning it from a questionable financial transaction to an outright gift.

In fact, if the loan forgiveness was not reported to the IRS, then, in addition to being a pretty egregious violation of the norms of Supreme Court self-reporting, (There are no actual rules) it would be tax evasion.

Forgiven loans are supposed to be reported as income:

The terms of the private loan were as generous as they were clear: With no money down, Justice Clarence Thomas could borrow more than a quarter of a million dollars from a wealthy friend to buy a 40-foot luxury motor coach, making annual interest-only payments for five years. Only then would the principal come due.

But despite the favorable nature of the 1999 loan and a lengthy extension to make good on his obligations, Justice Thomas failed to repay a “significant portion” — or perhaps any — of the $267,230 principal, according to a new report by Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee. Nearly nine years later, after Justice Thomas had made an unclear number of the interest payments, the outstanding debt was forgiven, an outcome with ethical and potential tax consequences for the justice.

“This was, in short, a sweetheart deal” that made no logical sense from a business perspective, Michael Hamersley, a tax lawyer who has served as a congressional expert witness, told The New York Times.

The chairman of Senate Finance Committee, Ron Wyden, is entitled to demand the tax returns of anyone in the nation, and as such, he could demand Thomas' tax returns for the period under the current tax code.

I would suggest that Wyden do this right now.  It should have a list of total interest payments over this time, and whether Thomas declared the loan forgiven.

It's time for this corrupt f%$# to be put in a cell with Donald Trump.