Liberal media outlets launching smear campaigns against Republicans is nothing new, especially on Supreme Court Justices who have made an effort to uphold conservative values in America.
According to a Washington, D.C. insider, Left-wing publications have taken it upon themselves to ruin and attack conservative Justice Clarence Thomas.
Mark Paoletta, a top D.C. lawyer and former White House Office of Management and Budget general counsel during the Trump Administration, said that attacks on Thomas in recent months are “part of Left’s effort to undermine [the] Court and ultimately pack it.”
In a series of tweets posted to X, Paoletta criticized the New York Times for highlighting a 1999 loan Thomas’s longtime friend Anthony Welters gave him for $267,230 so the Justice could purchase a 40-foot motor home. The Left-wing paper painted the transaction as a shady dealing between two friends despite Thomas repaying the loan in full back to Welters.
More from Paoletta, who included the statement from Welters confirming the loan repayment.
Here we go again. Democrats & media allies are smearing Justice Thomas b/c his friend loaned him money in 1999 to purchase R.V. Both Thomas & friend says the loan was satisfied. Attacks on Thomas are unprecedented & prove the Left wants to destroy the Court b/c it’s no longer liberal. The loan was secured by R.V., so it didn’t need to be reported. Thomas didn’t try to hide the loan either b/c nothing wrong w/ it. He listed a friend as a lienholder on the R.V. title long after loan terms were satisfied in 2008. Friend listed until 2023 when the press found hunting for things to attack Thomas. As I have previously stated, I believe Justice Thomas satisfied the loan. Because the loan was made 25 years ago and completed 15 years ago, bank statements — which I sought — no longer exist. While not a tangible record, I continue to put stock in my contemporaneous belief,” Welters said. “While I understand the attention given to who this involves, the difference between what you’re comparing to and what happened here is that a friend lent another friend money. As anyone who has borrowed from or lent to a family or friends, it’s simply not the same as a bank. Bottom line, I lent a friend money. The loan was properly papered. The loan, I felt, was satisfactorily repaid. That bank statements don’t exist decades later shouldn’t be surprising.” None of these attacks over the past year have demonstrated in any way that Thomas didn’t properly recuse from any case or that his jurisprudence was impacted. Why the constant attacks?
1/24 Here we go again, Democrats & media allies are smearing Justice Thomas b/c his friend loaned him money in 1999 to purchase RV. Both Thomas & friend say loan was satisfied. Attacks on Thomas are unprecedented & prove Left wants to destroy Court b/c it’s no longer liberal.
— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) October 30, 2023
Paoletta also noted the hypocrisy of how liberal media outlets have ignored similar financial situations regarding Democrats, which noted how Leftists categorize such transactions as “tolerable.”
7/ This was no problem for lefty judicial ethics experts. Lefty Prof Gillers: “If it’s a close personal friend and there’s no direct or indirect appearance before the judge, it’s tolerable. . .” Got that. He’s fine with it when it’s a liberal justice. But he’s unhinged on Thomas.
— Mark Paoletta (@MarkPaoletta) October 30, 2023
Left unbothered, Justice Brennan received $20K in cash & $ 120K in loan forgiveness for a condo from a wealthy developer, w/ $ 60 K forgiven in loan in 1990 & $60K forgiven in 1991. He didn’t report $120K in loan forgiveness until he was off Court. @RuthMarcus. This is pure vendetta by Left attacking Thomas’ relationships off-court because of the job he does on the Court. Dems and media tried to destroy Thomas in his 1991 confirmation b/c he is a black conservative & they failed. Thomas is now our greatest Justice & the Left is furious. This is why the press is obsessed w/ going after Thomas & not other Justices/public officials, like a stench of graft w/@POTUS & family. Biden paid $200k by brother the same day brother paid by company seeking influence & claims it’s repayment of the loan. Really??