A yacht, a contemporaneous papal visit and possibly some firearms are among the highlights

Around the time ProPublica uncovered the 2019 vacation Justice Thomas took around Indonesia on Harlan Crow’s 162’ superyacht, the Michaela Rose, Justice Sotomayor was planning her own trip around the Greek Isles on a rented 129’ superyacht named the White Knight.

A major difference between the two: according to the Supreme Court’s press office, Sotomayor paid her own way, meaning that unlike Thomas, she was not required to include her trip on her financial disclosure.

Sotomayor’s 2023 excursion is one of the more compelling segments of international travel included in new documents Fix the Court received last week from the State Department as a result of our FOIA lawsuit. FTC received a prior batch last month, and additional releases are likely to follow this summer.

Of the 12 justice-trips in this batch (nine with one justice and one with three justices), six were repeats from the prior one, albeit with some additional color: Sotomayor in Austria, the Czech Republic and Switzerland (same trip), Canada and Greece; Kagan in France and Luxembourg; and Barrett in South Africa.

Most were vacations, but the Austria, Switzerland and Luxembourg trips were official visits. (We do not count connecting flights in our country tally.)

Six trips were new: Roberts and Breyer joining Kagan in Luxembourg; Sotomayor again in Canada; Gorsuch in Mexico and Slovenia; and Breyer in the U.K. Again, most were vacations but the Canada and Luxembourg trips were official visits. (Though the documents refer to Sotomayor’s Canada trip as “personal,” she did attended an event with a former Canadian Supreme Court justice, so we count that as official.)

Meanwhile, Sotomayor’s yacht vacation appears to have been quite luxurious. The documents note that the “Principal” — presumably Sotomayor — slept on the boat, which left Crete on Sept. 1, 2023, for eight nights. Per the White Knight’s website, cruises at that time of year typically cost €15,000 per day, meaning, post-conversion, an eight-night excursion would have run between $181,440 and $207,360, depending on docking fees, gratuities and VAT. Assuming a maximum of 12 guests, that would have cost between $15,200 and $17,280 per person (not including flights), but it would have been higher if the group were smaller.

The documents do not indicate if Sotomayor’s security detail came with her on the boat. An email exchange implies no — a SCOTUS official asked a State Department counterpart, “What water assets do you have access to in case of an emergency while out at sea?” (p. 25) — but it’s difficult to tell. A response to that question was not included.

Sotomayor’s seafaring was preceded by trips to the Acropolis in Athens, Poseidon’s Temple on the southeastern tip of Greece and an archeological dig, while the yachting included jaunts to Mykonos and Santorini and concluded with Sotomayor staying at a “personal friend residence” (p. 30) on Crete.

As in the other batch, the justices appear to be well-guarded as they moved about North America, Europe and Africa. That said, questions about security do arise several times in the documents. Among email exchanges concerning the Barretts’ trip to South Africa last year, Supreme Court security personnel asked their State Department contacts, “What is the policy on carrying [redacted] while in South Africa? We would like to request [redacted] permits, if feasible” (p. 35). A response was not included, but some version of “firearm” seems to be the most likely item being discussed, especially since a similar request, with a similar redaction, was made for Sotomayor’s 2024 trip to Austria (p. 40).

Also of concern: the crowds that Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kagan and Breyer dealt with during their 2024 trip to Luxembourg due to a papal visit (p. 49), though the documents give no indication that any of the justices met with Pope Francis.

Questions about reimbursements also arise, as emails between State Department officials suggest uncertainty about whether their hotel stays while covering the justices or doing advance work will be fully paid. Recent increases in the justices’ security budget — including $30 million included in the DHS funding bill the House passed last week — should resolve any future financial concerns.

Finally, regarding the justices’ health, the correspondence mentions a “small AED” (p. 60) was requested for a Justice Gorsuch vacation in Slovenia and two “Level 1 Trauma Hospital[s]” (p. 65) were identified for a Justice Kagan trip to France. These are not out of the ordinary, of course, but are good reminders that should anyone on the Court fall ill or die, it would be a major international incident.

As noted last month, FTC 18 months ago requested documents concerning the services the State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security provided to the justices when they traveled internationally between Jan. 1, 2018, to Nov. 27, 2024. After not receiving the documents, we sued, and State delivered the first batch last month.

Our FOIA has two purposes: first, to identify any travel or other perks the justices may have omitted from their disclosures, whether because they were trying to hide them or because disclosure wasn’t required; and second, to ensure the nine are well-covered by security services when they leave the U.S.