by Natalia Mittlestadt
Rules for thee, but not for me? President Biden and his family have repeatedly vacationed at wealthy friends' homes over the years without disclosing them on financial forms, yet encouraged media scrutiny of SCOTUS' similar actions.
President Joe Biden has allegedly taken multiple free vacations at the homes of billionaire donors and wealthy businessmen without disclosing them over the years, yet has called for Supreme Court reform after justices have taken trips without reporting them.
As Supreme Court justices have been outed by left-leaning media for not disclosing gifts from friends, Democrats and Biden have called for reforms to the high court, including calling for a code of ethics. At the same time, Biden has also not reported allegedly free vacations that he has received from his wealthy friends, which has now led to a complaint filed with the Department of Justice.
Last month, Biden released his legislative proposal to reform the Supreme Court, which included imposing 18-year term limits, implementing a binding code of conduct for the Supreme Court justices, and erasing the recent presidential immunity decision that aided former President Donald Trump.
Biden’s frustration with the more conservative Supreme Court coincides with the efforts by liberal donors to push for Supreme Court reform and to specifically target Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, two of the court’s most conservative members.
Both Thomas and Alito have come under scrutiny for taking gifts and traveling with wealthy friends. The two justices subsequently released financial disclosure statements showing the gifts and travel. The revelations spurred Democrats to call for ethics reforms to the court that were echoed by liberal donor groups that have long called for a reform of the courts.
Biden’s list of Supreme Court reforms are nearly identical to the reforms that the liberal organization Demand Justice supports, including term limits for justices and mandatory ethics rules. The group also advocates for expanding the Supreme Court to dilute “the Court’s current extreme, far-right majority,” according to its website.
In June, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee investigated Thomas over additional luxury trips that he reportedly took with billionaire Harlan Crow.
Undiscussed, so far, is the fact that Biden has taken multiple free vacations over the years, allegedly not reporting them on financial disclosure forms. Last year, Biden took four vacations at wealthy supporters’ homes that he did not disclose on his Executive Branch Personnel Public Financial Disclosure Report, the New York Post reported.
Biden and his family stayed at the beachfront St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, home of wealthy business owners Bill and Connie Neville at the start and end of 2023. The home is usually a VRBO rental.
For a six-day Thanksgiving vacation, Biden stayed at billionaire hedge fund founder David Rubenstein’s compound in Nantucket. He also vacationed at billionaire climate activist and investor Tom Steyer’s place in Lake Tahoe, Nev., for nine days last August.
Initially, the White House said that Biden planned on paying “fair market value” for Steyer’s home, but a subsequent local investigation into Steyer's lacking a rental permit was abruptly dropped and there has been no disclosure of the rental term agreement, according to The Post.
During all four vacations, the homeowners are believed to have not been present. This could impact what is considered the “personal hospitality” exception, which is when friends offer gifts that are not required to be disclosed.
Ethics experts disagree on whether the homeowners must be present for the president’s free vacations to be considered under the “personal hospitality” exception, The Post reported.
“The President and First Lady did not have any required disclosures of gifts or travel reimbursements during the reporting period (January to December 2023),” a White House official told The Post at the time of publication. “Under the ethics rules, gifts of personal hospitality from friends, such as food, lodging, and entertainment are not required to be listed on the report.”
In 2022, Biden and his family vacationed at donor Maria Allwin’s mansion in Kiawah Island, S.C., for seven days in August, The Post reported. The Biden family also stayed at Rubenstein’s Nantucket compound for six days in November. Additionally, they ended 2022 at the Nevilles’ St. Croix home. No records of the family paying for any of those stays have been disclosed.
While he was vice president, Biden stayed at Allwin’s mansion -- apparently for free -- in March 2013 and August 2009 without disclosing it. He also vacationed at the Nevilles’ St. Croix home at least some of the five times he visited the location between 2014 and 2016, but didn’t disclose them.
The Nevilles were also guests at the 338-person dinner the White House held for French President Emmanuel Macron in Dec. 2022, along with billionaires, politicians, and celebrities, The Post reported.
In April, the Center for Renewing America (CRA) requested the Department of Justice investigate Biden for potentially violating financial disclosure laws.
“Whenever Biden wishes to celebrate a holiday or go on vacation, there seems to be a billionaire whose interests can be benefited by the President waiting to offer a vacation home. The potential for conflicts of interest is vast. Indeed, former ethics officials of both parties have roundly condemned these activities and pointed out their illegality,” wrote CRA President Russ Vought, who was director of the White House Office of Management and Budget under President Trump.
The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.
Natalia Mittlestadt
Source: https://justthenews.com/government/white-house/biden-didnt-disclose-allegedly-free-vacations-yet-pushes-supreme-court
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