Harlan Crow's Stonewalling Over Gifts to Justice Thomas Tests Senate's Power
- Billionaire’s response to inquiries amounts to ‘go pound sand’
- Obstacles to enforcing potential subpoena in polarized Senate
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Harlan Crow, the conservative billionaire who bestowed luxurious trips and private real estate deals on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his family, is signaling a will to do what auto-industry chieftains and Wall Street titans dared not: defy a Senate subpoena.
A subpoena hasn’t yet been issued, but the developing clash is setting up a test of a politically polarized Senate’s ability to wield one of its most powerful investigative tools. And it’s further evidence of the limits of Congress’ ability to pry loose information.