Today in one sentence: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas belatedly disclosed that a Republican billionaire paid for his two vacations in 2019; Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was caught on tape candidly discussing his views on the ideological battle between the left and the right; the United Nations Security Council passed a U.S.-sponsored ceasefire resolution aimed at ending the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza; Biden visited a World War I cemetery outside Paris where American troops are buried (the same cemetery Trump said was filled with "losers" and "'suckers' for getting killed"); Trump told rally-goers not to die in blazing heat in Las Vegas, saying "I don’t care about you, I just want your vote"; and Trump complained that electric boats are heavy and prone to sinking, but then veered off into a rant about sharks.

1/ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas belatedly disclosed that a Republican billionaire paid for his two vacations in 2019. Thomas’ newly released financial disclosure report for 2023 said the trips – one to Bali and one to an all-male retreat in northern California – were “inadvertently omitted at the time of filing.” Harlan and Kathy Crow paid for Thomas’ food and lodging at a hotel and private club. (ProPublica / New York Times / Washington Post / Politico / CNN / Axios)

  • 📌 Day 807: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted secret luxury vacations from a Republican megadonor for more than two decades without disclosing them. The trips were funded by Harlan Crow, a real-estate billionaire and Republican Party donor, who treated Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas to luxury vacations, stays at his properties and private resort, as well as free travel on his private jet and superyacht. Thomas didn’t disclose that travel on his annual financial disclosure forms, which appear to violate a federal law mandating top officials from the three branches of government, including the Supreme Court, file annual forms detailing their finances, outside income, and spouses’ sources of income. Judges are prohibited from accepting gifts from anyone with business before the court, and until a month ago the judicial branch had not defined an exemption for gifts considered “personal hospitality.” Sen. Dick Durbin, the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said Thomas’ actions were “simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court,” adding that “the highest court in the land shouldn’t have the lowest ethical standards.” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, called for Thomas to be impeached, saying “this is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking - almost cartoonish.” (ProPublica / Washington Post / New York Times / CNBC / NBC News / CBS News / CNN / Wall Street Journal)

  • 📌 Day 933: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas accepted at least 38 vacations, 26 private jet flights, eight flights by helicopter, a dozen VIP passes to sporting events, two stays at luxury resorts in Florida and Jamaica, and a standing invitation to play at a high-end private golf club in Florida from several billionaire benefactors since 1991. The travel often went unreported on Thomas’ required annual financial disclosure filings, and the total value of the undisclosed trips is probably in the millions of dollars. While it was previously reported that Harlan Crow paid for Thomas’ luxury vacations, his mother’s house, and a nephew’s tuition payments, Thomas, however, has also received special treatment from three other billionaires: David Sokol, H. Wayne Huizenga, and Paul “Tony” Novelly. All four billionaires have been major Republican donors. (ProPublica / New York Times / NPR / Bloomberg / CNN / Washington Post)

2/ Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was caught on tape candidly discussing his views on the ideological battle between the left and the right. “One side or the other is going to win,” Alito said at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner. “I mean, there can be a way of working — a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised. It’s not like you can split the difference.” Alito also endorsed the need to “return our country to a place of godliness.” The leaked audio comes following reports that two of his properties displayed flags with links to those flown by Trump’s supporters during the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, as well as by his refusal to recuse himself from cases involving Trump and the Jan. 6 insurrection. (Rolling Stone / The Intercept / Daily Beast)

3/ The United Nations Security Council passed a U.S.-sponsored ceasefire resolution aimed at ending the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The resolution was approved with 14 of the 15 Security Council members voting in favor –with Russia, which has veto power, abstaining – and calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.” The three-phase plan begins with an “immediate, full, and complete ceasefire with the release of hostages including women, the elderly and the wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed, and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.” It also calls for the return of displaced Gazans to their homes, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, and the “safe and effective” distribution of humanitarian assistance. Phase two includes a permanent end to hostilities “in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.” The plan also bans any reduction in the territory of Gaza. And, the third phase would allow for “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza” and steps toward a two-state solution for both Israel and the Palestinian territories. In March, China and Russia vetoed a Gaza ceasefire resolution, and prior to that, the U.S. vetoed three resolutions. (Washington Post / Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / CNN)

👑 Portrait of a president.

  1. Biden visited a World War I cemetery outside Paris where American troops are buried – the same cemetery Trump said was filled with “losers” and “‘suckers’ for getting killed.” (NPR / ABC News)

  2. Trump told rally-goers not to die in blazing heat in Las Vegas, saying: “I don’t care about you, I just want your vote.” Six people were taken to a hospital, while another two dozen received medical attention on site at Trump’s rally. (The Independent / ABC News)

  3. Trump threatened to stiff the company he contracted to set up teleprompters at his Vegas rally after they malfunctioned in an extended rant: “I’ve got no teleprompters, and I haven’t from the beginning. I pay all this money to teleprompter people, and I’d say 20% of the time they don’t work. The thing’s waving around, they can’t tie it a little bit tighter? So we’re all in this together — just a mess! […] Tell them to make the microphone louder. It’s terrible! Are the teleprompters not working? Not even a little bit. Great job! And then I don’t pay the company that does it, right? Then I end up with a story, ‘Trump doesn’t pay.’ I don’t pay contractors that do a shitty job, and that’s a shitty job. You can’t read a word. But you know what, it usually ends up that the speech is better. It’s crazy.” (Rolling Stone)

  4. Trump complained that electric boats are heavy and prone to sinking at his Vegas rally, but then veered off into a rant about sharks. “If the boat is sinking, water goes over the battery, the boat is sinking, do I stay on top of the boat and get electrocuted?” Trump said. “Or do I jump over by the shark and not get electrocuted?” (New York Magazine / Daily Beast / HuffPost)

  5. Trump told Dr. Phil that “sometimes revenge can be justified,” referring to his intention to retaliate against Democrats for his criminal conviction by a jury of his peers in Manhattan. (The New Republic)

  6. Trump will be interviewed by a New York probation officer ahead of his July 11 sentencing after he was found guilty on all 34 felon counts of orchestrating an illegal conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election by falsifying business records. (CNBC / CNN)

📅 The WTFJHT Calendar: Now until Then.

  1. ⛔️ June 19: Juneteenth – No WTFJHT.
  2. 📺 June 27: Biden-Trump debate.
  3. ⛔️ July 4: Independence Day – No WTFJHT.
  4. ⚖️ July 11: Trump is sentenced.
  5. 🐘 July 15: Republican National Convention.
  6. 🇮🇱 July 24: Netanyahu addresses joint session of Congress.
  7. 🫏 Aug. 19: Democratic convention.
  8. ⛔️ Sept. 2: Labor Day – No WTFJHT.
  9. 📺 Sept. 10: Biden-Trump debate.
  10. 📆 Oct. 6: Last day to register to vote in some states.
  11. ⛔️ Oct. 14: Indigenous Peoples’ Day – No WTFJHT.
  12. 🗳️ Nov. 5: Presidential Election.
Three years ago today: Day 142: "Point of no return."
Five years ago today: Day 872: Possibly catastrophic.