Large Donations from Controversial Billionaire Harlan Crow to Virginia Candidate
Harlan Crow, known for his significant influence in conservative circles and recent controversies involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has contributed a substantial sum to Winsome Earle-Sears, who is running for governor of Virginia. Crow’s donations total $65,000, raising questions about his political motivations and affiliations.
Crow’s personal contributions to Earle-Sears include $10,000 in 2022 and an additional $5,000 in the current year. Furthermore, the Crow Family Office Pool, L.L.C., where Crow serves as CEO, provided $50,000 to Earle-Sears’ Political Action Committee (PAC) in January 2024.
Crow’s involvement in politics dates back to the 1990s, where he established himself as a key player in the conservative movement. As a founding member of the Club for Growth, Crow has advocated for policy changes such as reducing Social Security benefits and lowering taxes for high-income earners.
The billionaire’s financial support of Justice Clarence Thomas has sparked an ethics controversy, detailed in an investigative report by ProPublica in April 2023. Besides providing access to his private jet and yacht, Crow covered the tuition for Thomas’ grandnephew and funded renovations on a property where Thomas’ mother resides. These gifts were not disclosed in Thomas’ mandated annual financial reports.
Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), commented on the situation, stating, “Justice Thomas’s acceptance of and failure to disclose these repeated, lavish gifts … not only undermines public trust in his ability to serve impartially on the Court, it undermines confidence in the Supreme Court as an institution.”
Despite the controversy, both Crow and Thomas claim their relationship is purely personal and devoid of any improper conduct.
Earle-Sears has been serving as Virginia’s Lieutenant Governor since 2022 and secured the Republican nomination for governor on April 5. Her competition in the gubernatorial race is former Representative Abigail Spanberger, to whom Crow had donated $2,800 in 2019 but has not supported financially since then.
Requests for comments from Earle-Sears’ team have yet to receive a response.
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