Americans are slamming John Oliver for an over-the-top bit he did on the most recent episode of his show, during which he offered Justice Clarence Thomas $1 million a year and a $2.4 million motor coach to ‘get the f**k off the Supreme Court.’
The segment, which included the British-born comedian showing off a model of an extremely expensive motorhome, has attracted negative reactions online from many Americans raising a variety of grievances with the bit, including some of whom believe Oliver’s bit broke the law.
‘Under 18 U.S. Code § 201 John Oliver could be fined $3+ million for this bribery offer AND spend a maximum 15 years in federal prison,’ wrote Alec Sears.
‘”How is this legal?” John Oliver asks at the end of his monologue. Well, you see John, it’s not,’ he added.
Oliver made his offer on Sunday’s episode of his HBO show, Last Week Tonight, telling the justice he had just 30 days to accept or the offer would expire.
It is unclear whether John’s comical offer would meet the legal threshold for bribery, but Thomas has participated in some real-life exchanges that have raised eyebrows among critics.
Comedian John Oliver offered Justice Thomas Clarence $1 million a year to leave the Supreme Court
The segment came after a series of investigations revealed a close relationship between Clarence Thomas and Republican billionaire Harlan Crow, which has, over the years, included lavish trips.
The investigation has led to questions about Thomas’ fitness for his position among, primarily among his Democratic detractors, particularly in the wake of the heavily politicized Roe v Wade ruling and his refusal to recuse himself from hearings related to the January 6 insurrection.
Oliver joked on his show: ‘Lot on your plate right now, from stripping away women’s rights to hearing January 6 cases … and you deserve a break, you know, away from the meanness of Washington.’
‘So you can be surrounded by the regular folks whose lives you made demonstrably worse for decades.’
Conservative radio host Mark Levin took aim at Oliver’s piece on X, accusing the comedian of racism directed at Thomas.
‘A public bribe by a truly stupid comic-joke with a British accent who, for some reason, came to the United States to trash it,’ he wrote.
‘This jackass’s target continues to be Clarence Thomas because, you see, he is a black man who doesn’t fit Oliver’s stereotype and, therefore, must by regularly and repeatedly smeared. Rather than celebrating Thomas’s brilliance and achievements, Oliver and the other bigots have to try to destroy Thomas.’
One anonymous X account, wrote that they would pay twice Oliver’s $1million offer for ‘John Oliver to get the f**k out of the USA and go back to his colonist homeland in England.’
Justice Clarence Thomas was exposed in a series of expenses scandals last year
In April of last year, ProPublica reported that Thomas had failed to declare 20 years worth of jet-setting and luxury trips paid for by Crow on financial disclosure forms.
They revealed that Thomas had vacationed on Crow’s super yacht, flown on his Bombardier Global 5000 jet and attended events with at Bohemian Grove, the elusive all-male retreat known to be frequented by billionaires, politicians, and other globally powerful men.
Crow also reportedly paid roughly $100,000 in tuition for Thomas’ grand-nephew and bought the home that Thomas’ mother was living in.
Thomas has been a frequent target of criticism lobbed at him by those dissatisfied with the court’s most recent big-ticket rulings – most notably, the overturning of Roe v Wade after 50 years.
The justice also refused to recuse himself from hearings pertaining to the January 6 Capitol riot, including a case currently pending before the court about whether Donald Trump may be removes from states’ ballots ahead of the presidential election.
Thomas’ wife of many decades, Ginni Thomas, is a known conservative activist who espoused questionable claims following the 2020 election and the events of January 6.
Referring to the scandals while making his offer on Sunday, Oliver said: ‘So that’s the offer, $1m a year, Clarence. And a brand new condo on wheels.
‘And all you have to do … is sign the contract and get the f**k off the supreme court. The clock starts now – 30 days, Clarence. Let’s do this!’
He promised him a $2.4 million motor coach in exchange for stepping down
The promise of huge monetary sums and luxury gifts was a nod to the gifts Thomas accepted from his friend Crow, who reportedly collects Nazi artefacts including a signed copy of Mein Kampf and two of Hitler’s paintings.
Oliver said: ‘I think you’re thinking, what would my friend say if I take this offer? Will they judge me as they sit in their boardrooms and mega yachts and Hitler shrines?
‘Will they still treat me to luxury vacations and sing songs about me off their phones?’
He added: ‘Well, that’s the beauty of friendship, Clarence. If they’re real friends, they’ll love you no matter what your job is. So I guess this might be the perfect way to find out who your real friends actually are.’
ProPublica revealed that Thomas had spent time at Crow’s ranch in East Texas and he tended to spend a week every summer at Crow’s private resort in New York’s Adirondacks, Camp Topridge.
Rates for a nearby hotel start at $2,250 a night, but Camp Topridge is even more exclusive – guests must be personally invited by Crow.
It also has quirky features including a replica of Hagrid’s cabin from Harry Potter, a 1950s-style soda fountain, and bronze statues of gnomes.
A 2019 trip that Thomas and his wife Ginni took to Indonesia with Crow – that included private flights and time on board the yacht, named the Michaela Rose – would have cost around $500,000, ProPublica said.
Thomas’ annual salary is $285,000.
ProPublica reported that Thomas had also been on the yacht during a trip to New Zealand and around Savannah, Georgia.
Additionally, the news organization found pictures of the justice sporting a shirt with the Michaela Rose logo emblazoned with ‘March 2007’ and ‘Greek Islands,’ suggesting Thomas also took a trip then.
The judicial code of ethics that applies to all federal judges, including those at the Supreme Court level, requires that members of the judiciary report all gifts and travel paid for by others.
But, until last year, those rules had an exception carved out for private travel and hospitality funded by personal friends who have no cases pending before the court. Crow would have fallen into that category for Thomas.
Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed that Republican billionaire Harlan Crow paid for a trio of his private flights
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse shows a painting of Clarence Thomas (second from right) and Harlan Crow (right) gathered at Crow’s Adirondacks resort, Camp Topridge. The painting is on display at the New York property
An image of Crow’s yacht, the Michaela Rose, which was decked out with a giant inflatable rubber duck during the Thomases 2019 trip to Indonesia
A law passed after Watergate requires justices, judges, members of Congress and federal officials to disclose most gifts.
ProPublica also reported that Crow had paid roughly $100,000 in tuition for Thomas’ grand-nephew, who the justice was raising like a son, to attend Hidden Lake Academy and Randolph-Macon Academy, a military school the billionaire had also attended.
Several days after ProPublica’s initial report on Crow financing Thomas’ vacations, the news outlet published a story saying that the billionaire had purchased the home that Thomas’ mother was living in, along with two other properties on her block that had belonged to the justice.
The new disclosure form says that in 1984 Thomas inherited one-third of the trio of properties. Crow ‘a longtime friend of filer and his wife’ then bought the houses for $133,000, along with other houses and lots on the street.
‘Filer and his wife had put between $50,000 and $75,000 into his mother’s home in capital improvements over the years, and therefore, the transaction amounted to a capital loss,’ the disclosure form says.