Senator Ted Cruz released a biography of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on August 25, 2026, titled “Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas,” as Thomas publicly praised Cruz during a podcast appearance for defending him against ethics complaints in recent years.
During Monday’s episode of “Verdict with Ted Cruz,” Thomas told the senator: “You’re one of the people who actually stands up, particularly at times when others seem to wither, and I appreciate it.” Thomas added that Cruz and other allies had defended him and his wife when they “were under attack for obvious reasons.”
The 336-page biography traces Thomas’s life from his upbringing in poverty in segregated Georgia to his three decades on the Supreme Court bench. Cruz, a Harvard Law School graduate who once clerked for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, conducted exclusive interviews with Thomas spanning 9.5 hours over the past year to research the book.
Thomas has faced sustained scrutiny over his financial disclosures since 2023, when ProPublica first reported that he had accepted luxury trips and gifts from billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow without disclosing them. The justice later disclosed he had accepted several private jet trips but denied wrongdoing, citing security concerns following the leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade.
In April 2023, as the ethics questions intensified, Cruz positioned himself as a vocal defender, calling the criticism a “political smear job” on Fox News. “They’re not looking at any other judges,” Cruz said at the time. “This is a political smear job directed at Clarence Thomas, because he is an extraordinary constitutionalist.”
The ethics controversy expanded in 2024 when additional disclosures revealed more undisclosed travel. Thomas also faced criticism over his wife Ginni’s involvement in conservative political activity, including her reported efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In response, the Supreme Court adopted its first code of conduct for justices in 2024, directing them to “avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.”
Thomas acknowledged in June 2024 that he should have disclosed the trips, according to reporting from the Texas Tribune. Legal ethics experts said the justice appeared to have violated federal law by failing to disclose the gifts and travel.
Cruz’s new biography arrives as he continues to build his profile in conservative politics, with the book providing a detailed account of Thomas’s judicial philosophy and personal journey. The timing of the book’s release alongside Thomas’s public praise of Cruz suggests a strengthening alliance between the two conservative figures.
Sources
- The Hill — Clarence Thomas’s podcast praise for Cruz’s defense of him against ethics complaints, the biography title and August 25 release date, Thomas’s quote, and Cruz’s April 2023 “political smear job” statement
- Penguin Random House — Book publication details, 336-page count, and description of Thomas’s upbringing in segregated Georgia
- Facebook (Ted Cruz official page) — Confirmation of 9.5 hours of exclusive interviews with Thomas for the biography
- ProPublica — Initial 2023 reporting on Thomas’s undisclosed luxury travel and gifts from Harlan Crow
- Texas Tribune — Thomas’s June 2024 acknowledgment that he should have disclosed trips
