A Maine lawyer who successfully argued against affirmative action in college admissions in the recent Supreme Court Case sent Justice Clarence Thomas’ aide funds via Venmo in 2019.
Patrick Strawbridge, who lives in North Yarmouth, according to the Portland Press Herald, argued the Supreme Court case regarding affirmative action in favor of the group claiming race-conscious admissions at the University of North Carolina violated the 14th Amendment. Thomas was among the six justices who in June ruled in favor of the group Strawbridge represented.
Strawbridge Venmoed Thomas’ aide months before arguing Donald Trump’s case regarding his tax returns before the Supreme Court, according to the Portland Press Herald. He was also Thomas’s clerk in 2008.
Strawbridge was among seven lawyers who had previously served as Thomas’ clerks who sent Venmo payments to his aide Rajan Vasisht in 2019, according to The Guardian, which broke the story. Based on the stated purpose in Venmo, the payments appear to have been made in connection to Thomas’ Christmas party in 2019. The payment amounts are undisclosed, and Vasisht made his Venmo transactions private following the Guardian investigation.
The nature of the payments is unclear — but whether the lawyers were paying their own way in the party, paying for admission or paying Thomas is vital in determining the ethics of the situation, legal experts say.
This finding comes among several ethical questions surrounding Thomas and other Supreme Court justices, including the revelations by ProPublica that Republican megadonor Harlan Crow paid for two years of Thomas’s child’s private school tuition and two decades of luxury trips.
Vasisht told The Guardian that he does not want to issue a statement nor be contacted. Thomas’ chamber did not respond to The Guardian’s request for comment.
Jules Walkup is a Report for America corps member. Additional support for this reporting is provided by BDN readers.