US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has said helium believed luxury trips taken with a billionaire Republican donor were "not reportable".
A ProPublica study earlier this week reported Mr Thomas had accepted vacations from existent property mogul Harlan Crow astir each twelvemonth for 2 decades.
Supreme Court justices are required to record yearly disclosures of gifts.
Mr Thomas said that helium had been led to judge that "this benignant of idiosyncratic hospitality" did not apply.
According to ProPublica, the trips included respective connected Mr Crow's luxury yacht and backstage plane, arsenic good arsenic a week spent each summertime successful the Adirondack mountains.
One trip, to Indonesia successful 2019, whitethorn person outgo arsenic overmuch arsenic $500,000 (£402,725), according to the non-profit quality website.
In a connection connected Friday, Mr Thomas said that helium had sought "guidance from my colleagues and others successful the judiciary" and was told that "that this benignant of idiosyncratic hospitality from adjacent idiosyncratic friends, who did not person concern earlier the Court, was not reportable".
"I person endeavoured to travel that counsel passim my tenure, and person ever sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," the connection added.