Blowing off Wyden

The slap fight between Senator Ron "Gatsby" Wyden (D sorta-Ore. sorta) and bajillionaire Harlan Crow continues. Regular readers may recall from my earlier posts that Wyden has been grandstanding nonstop about Crow's obscene showering of "gifts" on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. The senator is right, of course: It is a complete outrage, and something ought to be done about it. But Wyden, as chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is trying to make it into a tax thing, where he has big-time jurisdiction, when the real problem is corruption.

Anyway, about a month ago old Ron fired off another nasty letter to Crow's D.C. lawyer, a guy named Michael Bopp at the big-bucks law firm Gibson Dunn. Wyden rightly pointed out that Crow has been lavishing all sorts of luxury trips on Thomas – more are discovered all the time – and that Thomas hasn't been disclosing them as he is required to do. Ron, acting like an IRS auditor (whose job he himself could never competently do), demanded all sorts of information and records pertaining to Crow's yacht and jet, and Thomas's use of them. A three-page list of demands it was, supposedly because the Finance Committee staff is writing bills that would put a stop to such gratuities.

And just as has he's done all along, Bopp has laughed old Ron off.

So what will happen? My guess is, nothing of any consequence. Wyden will huff and puff and strut and bleat, but he'll never take Crow and his minions to the mat. Expect more nasty letters, which do generate publicity, but that's about it.

Did Crow improperly write off personal use of his boat and plane as a business expense? It's impossible to tell from here. It wouldn't shock me. And pursuing that question could possibly turn up some tax problems for Thomas. But it's going to be up to the IRS to decide whether to dig into the matter. Mr. Tough Guy Chairman isn't going to do anything but yammer.

Speaking of which, the Times had this article this week (paywall avoided, you're welcome) about how the Turtle, Mitch McConnell, and the rest of the Republicans on Capitol Hill have been cleaning the Democrats' clock for years on tax issues. The Dems are saying "It's about time we won a round," but look who's running the Finance Committee. Nobody listens to him. Indeed, the Times article does not even acknowledge his existence.