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On Thursday, August 10, Democratic lawmakers said that former Miami Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga was one of the men who gave gifts to Clarence Thomas, a Chief Justice who has been accused of failing to disclose several luxury items he received from his wealthy friends.
In the wake of the controversy, many Democratic lawmakers demanded Thomas to resign from his position. They noted that by failing to declare the gifts, Thomas was at risk of having conflicts of interest in high profile cases. Besides Wayne Huizenga, several other businessmen have been identified as benefactors, including David Sokol, Paul Novelly, and Harlan Crow.
All there is to know about Wayne Huizenga
Born in December, 1937, Wayne Huizenga began his business empire in the 60's. He started to gain recognition in 1962, when he started the Southern Sanitation Service. By the 1980's, he had become one of the most prominent figures in the American waste management industry.
In 1987, Huizenga became a co-owner of BlockBuster video, before expanding into auto-dealerships. In the 1990's, he became the owner of Miami based sports teams such as Florida Marlins and Florida panthers. He had interests in several major sports, such as hockey, football and baseball.
That decade, Wayne Huizenga was recognised by the American Academy of Achievement with a Golden Plate award. In 2005, he was named Ernst & Young World Entrepeneur of the year. On March 22, 2018, he died of cancer in his home in Fort Lauderdale, California.
The allegations against Chief Justice Clarence Thomas
Wayne Huizenga's name resurfaced in the news recently, when he was identified by name as one of Chief Justice Clarence Thomas' alleged benefactors. Jeremy Fogel, a former Judge, noted that many judge's bend the rules of ethical conduct accepting various gifts. However, he said that Chief Justice Clarence Thomas received more luxury gifts than most figures in the judicial system.
Jeremy Fogel said:
“In my career I don’t remember ever seeing this degree of largesse given to anybody. I think it’s unprecedented.”
David Sokol, another businessman implicated as an alleged benefactor of Thomas', said that the gifts were entirely unrelated to any ongoing legal matters.
“We have never once discussed any pending court matter. Our conversations have always revolved around helping young people, sports, and family matters,” Sokol stated.
Responding to the fact that he had reportedly provided Chief Justice Thomas with private plane tickets, he said that this was largely a practical matter.
“As to the use of private aviation, I believe that given security concerns all of the Supreme Court justices should either fly privately or on governmental aircraft,” Sokol added.
Huizenga's family has declined to comment on the recent allegations against Thomas.
