Non-Justice Alito Accepted $900 Concert Tickets From German Princess

 

By The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Justice Samuel Alito reported Friday that he accepted $900 worth of concert tickets from a German princess, but disclosed no trips paid for by other people, according to a new financial disclosure form.

The required annual filing, for which Alito has often sought an extension, doesn’t include details of the event tickets gifted by socialite Gloria von Thurn und Taxis of Germany. Alito didn’t report any outside income from teaching or book contracts.

The financial disclosures filed by Supreme Court justices come against the backdrop of a heightened focus on ethics at the high court amid criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices. The other eight justices filed their forms in June; Alito received an extension.

Justice Clarence Thomas, for example, belatedly acknowledged more travel paid by Republican megadonor Harlan Crow from 2019 this year, including a hotel room in Bali, Indonesia, and food and lodging at a private club in Sonoma County, California.

Alito, meanwhile, took a private plane trip to a luxury Alaska fishing lodge from two wealthy Republican donors in in 2008, the nonprofit investigative news site ProPublica reported last year. Alito, for his part, said he was not obligated to disclose the travel under a previous exemption for personal hospitality.

Alito also reported a handful of stock sales, including between $1,000 and $15,000 of Anheuser Busch stock sold in August of 2023, as the stock began to stabilize following a boycott from conservatives over a promotion Budweiser had with a transgender influencer. Alito has not commented on the stock sale, which was first disclosed in May. He also noted a 2015 loan from the financial services firm Edward D. Jones that was originally worth between $250,000 and $500,000 has now been mostly paid down, but was inadvertently omitted from some of his past reports. 

Alito has separately been under scrutiny over flags that flew outside homes he owned. He has said they were raised by his wife.

The justices recently adopted an ethics code, though it lacks a means of enforcement. The code treats travel, food and lodging as expenses rather than gifts, for which monetary values must be reported. Justices aren’t required to attach a value to expenses.

Some Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have pressed for the adoption of a binding code of conduct and provide for investigations of alleged violations. Justice Elena Kagan has also backed adopting an enforcement mechanism. But the prospect for any such legislation is considered remote in a closely divided Congress.

 

The annual disclosures paint a partial picture of the justices’ finances, as they are not required to reveal the value of their homes or, for those who are married, their spouse’s salary.

Concert tickets were also disclosed by another justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, this year — hers were a gift from the singer Beyoncé, valued at more than $3,700. Several justices also reported six-figure payments to justices as part of book deals.

In their day jobs, the justices are being paid $298,500 this year, except for Chief Justice John Roberts, who earns $312,200.