Justice Clarence Thomas tears into 'hideous' Washington as he moans about 'the nastiness and the lies' he and his wife Ginni have endured

Justice Clarence Thomas denounced Washington as a 'hideous place' filled with 'awful people', claiming he and his wife have been hounded by 'nastiness' and lies. 

The Supreme Court justice has been the subject of intense public scrutiny over his wife, Virginia Thomas', efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his acceptance of luxury gifts from billionaire friends. 

In his first extensive public comments since the scandals, at a judicial conference in Alabama on Friday, Thomas said he and his wife had been subjected to 'nastiness' and 'lies'. 

The New York Times reported he said: 'Especially in Washington, people pride themselves in being awful. It's a hideous place, as far as I'm concerned.'

Thomas is one of the most conservative and controversial judges on the Supreme Court and was instrumental in overturning federal abortion rights granted by Roe v Wade.

Justice Clarence Thomas was exposed in a series of expenses scandals last year

His wife, Virginia Thomas, endorsed false claims that the 2020 election was stolen  

Thomas came under fire for reports he had borrowed more than a quarter of a million dollars from a friend to buy his RV

Thomas made the remarks while being interviewed by former clerk, Kathryn Kimball Mizelle at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference held at a luxury resort in Mobile Bay.

He did not specify who or what he was referring to, but he made sweeping statements about the 'negativity' he has faced in recent years. 

He said: 'There's certainly been a lot of negativity in our lives, my wife and I, over the last few years, but we choose not to focus on it.'

Thomas faced calls for recusal after it was revealed that his wife had attempted to overturn the 2020 election and had endorsed false claims that the election was stolen. 

Then, last year, a series of investigations revealed that he had failed to declare dozens of lavish trips and expenses paid for by Republican billionaire Harlan Crow.

The ensuing scandal called his integrity and impartiality into question, particularly in the wake of the heavily politicized Roe v Wade ruling and his refusal to recuse himself from hearings related to the January 6 insurrection. 

Thomas did not directly reference the scandals in his comments and instead focused on his career and life before politics. 

He said: 'I was thinking of getting out of D.C. I had no interest in being in public life.

'I wound up in this job and this is, we pray, to do whatever it was that God wanted me to do, what I was being called to do. But being in public life is not something I would have chosen to do.'

He added: 'Especially in Washington, people pride themselves in being awful. It's a hideous place, as far as I'm concerned. 

'Because the rest of the country, it's one of the reasons we like R.V-ing, you get to be around regular people who don't pride themselves in doing harmful things, merely because they have the capacity to do it.'

He did not mention claims that he had borrowed more than a quarter of a million dollars from a friend to buy his RV.  

In April last year, ProPublica exposed that Thomas had failed to declare 20 years worth of jet-setting and luxury trips paid for by Crow on financial disclosure forms.

They revealed that Thomas had vacationed on Crow's super yacht, flown on his Bombardier Global 5000 jet and holidayed with him in males-only resort in California, Bohemian Grove.

Crow also reportedly paid roughly $100,000 in tuition for Thomas' grand-nephew and bought the home that Thomas' mother was living in. 

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas disclosed that Republican billionaire Harlan Crow paid for a trio of his private flights

Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse shows a painting of Clarence Thomas (second from right) and Harlan Crow (right) gathered at Crow's Adirondacks resort, Camp Topridge. The painting is on display at the New York property 

An image of Crow's yacht, the Michaela Rose, which was decked out with a giant inflatable rubber duck during the Thomases 2019 trip to Indonesia 

They also revealed that Thomas had spent time at Crow's ranch in East Texas and he tended to spend a week every summer at Crow's private resort in New York's Adirondacks, Camp Topridge.

Rates for a nearby hotel start at $2,250 a night, but Camp Topridge is even more exclusive, as guests have to be personally invited by Crow.

It also has quirky features including a replica of Hagrid from Harry Potter's hut, a 1950s-style soda fountain and bronze statues of gnomes.

A 2019 trip that Thomas and his wife Ginni took to Indonesia with Crow - that included private flights and time on board the yacht, named the Michaela Rose and decked out with a giant inflatable rubber duck - would have cost around $500,000, the news organization said.

Thomas' annual salary is $285,000.