RUFF MONTH

Clarence Thomas’ Billionaire BFF: ‘We Talk About Dogs a Lot’

Harlan Crow labeled the suggestion that he might hold sway over the Supreme Court justice—as well as that pesky rumor about his Nazi memorabilia—“insane.”

Real estate mogul Harlan Crow thinks he is the victim of a “political hit job” after a pair of bombshell ProPublica reports cracked his relationship with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wide open, he told The Dallas Morning News. Speaking out for the first time since the nonprofit investigative outlet reported that Crow, among other things, has funded Thomas’ vacations and quietly bought his mother’s home, the billionaire said, “I think that the media, and this ProPublica group in particular, funded by leftists, has an agenda to destabilize the [Supreme] Court. What they’ve done is not truthful.” For one thing, the Republican megadonor—who said he takes umbrage with the term “megadonor”—labeled the suggestion that he might ever try to influence Thomas’ opinion “insane.” Instead, they talk about normal friend things, like children and animals. “You know, I can’t talk to Clarence without him asking about all the kids. ‘What are they doing?’” Crow recalled. “We have a dog named Otis that Clarence particularly likes. We talk about dogs a lot.” Still, he allowed later, “Every single relationship—a baby’s relationship to his mom—has some kind of reciprocity.”