US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas admitted on Thursday that he traveled for free on the businessman’s private jet, AFP and Reuters reported, citing Agerpres.

The conservative judge has already been criticized for accepting gifts from a Republican billionaire. A series of scandalous revelations has fueled controversy over gifts received by judges in recent months, putting the Supreme Court, which has handed down several conservative rulings on abortion and guns, in a difficult position.

Clarence Thomas is considered the most conservative US Supreme Court justice since the 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The American press discovered that Thomas had accepted, without announcing them, accommodation and yacht cruises from billionaire Harlan Crowe. In the 2022 financial report released on Thursday, the judge cited three free trips on Crowe’s plane, which he justified by “increased security risks” after the journalists’ articles.

He claimed that his bodyguards advised him to avoid commercial air travel, even in an official capacity.

The judge’s lawyer denounces the charges against his client as “ridiculous”.

Thomas still did not admit that he enjoyed the luxuries provided for free by the billionaire, who also paid for his son’s private school education and bought a house for the judge’s mother. Crowe also donated $500,000 to a conservative group founded by Ginny Thomas, the judge’s wife, who collected much of that in salary.

The judge defended himself by arguing that the rules for declaring benefits such as travel later changed and Crowe had no case before the Supreme Court.

In the 2022 statement, he said he was waiting to see if he needed to change his earlier statements.

Thomas’ lawyer, Elliot Burke, said the errors in the previous statements were “unintentional” and the judge always tried to follow the law, including personal trips that had to be declared.

Berke added that Thomas’ critics are “ridiculous” and come from “left-wing organizations.”