美国国家公共电台 NPR--'Washington Post': Justice Thomas claimed income from a defunct real estate firm

'Washington Post': Justice Thomas claimed income from a defunct¹ real estate firm

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Washington Post reporter Emma Brown about the paper's reporting that found for years, Supreme³ Court Justice Clarence Thomas claimed income from a defunct real estate firm.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

This morning, we're following another development involving U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his finances. The Washington Post reports Thomas indicated for years that his family received rental⁴ income from a real estate company that no longer exists. Investigative reporter Emma Brown co-authored the story and joins me now. Good morning, Emma.

EMMA BROWN: Good morning.

FADEL: If you could just start by walking us through what you uncovered.

BROWN: Sure. Decades ago, Clarence Thomas's wife, Ginni Thomas - her family in Nebraska established a real estate company called Ginger⁵, Ltd., Partnership⁶. And it was a land leasing company, traced its roots to a couple of lakeside developments outside Omaha. Clarence Thomas has, since 1990, when he was first nominated to join the federal bench, reported annual income from that company on his financial disclosure forms. But the company ceased to exist in 2006, and the family's holdings were transferred to a similarly named company, Ginger Holdings, LLC. So he - but he has continued to report this income as coming from the company that no longer exists. And in recent years, that income has been between 50,000 and $100,000 a year.

FADEL: Have you gotten a response from Justice Thomas about why this happened?

BROWN: We have not gotten a comment from him, nor his wife. And, you know, it could very well be just a paperwork issue. But taken together with other errors and omissions⁷ on his financial disclosure forms over the years, it's part of a pattern that has raised questions about how seriously he views his responsibility to accurately⁸ report details of his finances to the public.

FADEL: Now, your story comes after revelations in a ProPublica investigation⁹ about Thomas's disclosure history. That report revealed that a Texas billionaire took him on lavish¹⁰ vacations. What does this mean when it comes to trust in Thomas and the Supreme Court?

BROWN: Yeah, the two recent ProPublica stories have landed as bombshells, for sure, but there have been other instances over the years of errors or omissions on his forms. So, for example, his wife, Ginni Thomas, worked at the Heritage Foundation for several years in the mid-2000s and earned close to $700,000. But he reported during those years that she had no income from employment and at the time said it was a misunderstanding of the filing instructions. And there have been other instances like that - that, you know, we talked to an ethics¹¹ expert from New York University, Stephen Gillers, who said Thomas's assurances and promises cannot be trusted at this point, and he should be investigated.

FADEL: So taken together, how many things could be simple mistakes, I think, is what he's saying, right?

BROWN: Yeah, he's just saying at this point, we should - you know, he's actually - as we reported in our story, believes that all three branches of government should investigate just because Americans' trust in the Supreme Court is at a low right now. And it is important for Americans to be able to trust it. It's a critical institution in our republic.

FADEL: Washington Post reporter Emma Brown, thank you so much for your time.

BROWN: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF MARTIN GAUFFIN'S "FOUND")

1 defunct   

adj.死亡的；已倒闭的

参考例句：

• The scheme for building an airport seems to be completely defunct now.建造新机场的计划看来整个完蛋了。
• This schema object is defunct.No modifications are allowed until it is made active again.此架构对象不起作用。在重新激活之前，不能进行任何改动。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

4 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

5 ginger   

n.姜，精力，淡赤黄色；adj.淡赤黄色的；vt.使活泼，使有生气

参考例句：

• There is no ginger in the young man.这个年轻人没有精神。
• Ginger shall be hot in the mouth.生姜吃到嘴里总是辣的。

6 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

7 omissions   

n.省略( omission的名词复数 )；删节；遗漏；略去或漏掉的事（或人）

参考例句：

• In spite of careful checking, there are still omissions. 饶这么细心核对，还是有遗漏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• It has many omissions; even so, it is quite a useful reference book. 那本书有许多遗漏之处，即使如此，尚不失为一本有用的参考书。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

11 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。