Jul 17, 2023 · Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary ... ... Well, I certainly have, ever since I first saw her last year (2016), moored in Liverpool's Albert Dock. So, here's the answer. The custom motor yacht 'Michaela Rose' belonged to the late Trammell Crow, a Texas-based developer who once loaned her to President George H. Bush and Barbara Bush (Dubya's mom & pop) for a Mediterranean vacation. I wonder if I could get a loan of it? (Rhetorical ... ... Jul 19, 2023 · Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary ... ... Sep 19, 2017 · #84: MICHAELA ROSE—161'5"This yacht has completed at least two circumnavigations and seems in no mood to quit cruising. She was in Denmark in May, then Finland and Sweden in June, and in years past she's been to Ireland, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Antarctica, and Greece. Trammell Crow, a Texas-based developer, has been enjoying her since launch. He loaned ... The 49.23m/161'6" motor yacht 'Michaela Rose' was built by Fr. Schweers Shipyard in Germany at their Bardenfleth shipyard. Her interior is styled by Dutch designer design house Diana Yacht Design and she was completed in 1984. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Diana Yacht Design and she was last refitted in 2008. Guest ... ... Jul 17, 2023 · Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary notions of glamour (for one, less gold plating). The work was expensive: Crow’s tax information shows a $1.8 million loss from Rochelle Charter that year. ... Harlan Rogers Crow (born 1949) is an American-Kittitian [1] ... In June 2023, Crow's attorney said that the yacht was used by Crow's friends, family, and employees ... ... Michaela Rose is a custom motor yacht launched in 1984 by Fr. Schweers Shipyard. Design. Michaela Rose measures 49.23 metres in length, with a max draft of 3.10 metres and a beam of 8.80 metres. ... Feb 6, 2024 · A key congressional committee is pressuring billionaire Harlan Crow for answers after investigators turned up additional evidence that he misrepresented his yacht as a business to score a tax break. ... ">
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Ever wondered who owns her? | by * RICHARD M (14 MILLION VIEWS)

* RICHARD M (14 MILLION VIEWS)

Ever wondered who owns her?

Well, i certainly have, ever since i first saw her last year (2016), moored in liverpool's albert dock . so, here's the answer.   the custom motor yacht ' michaela rose ' belonged to the late trammell crow, a texas-based developer who once loaned her to president george h. bush and barbara bush ( dubya 's mom & pop) for a mediterranean vacation. i wonder if i could get a loan of it (rhetorical question of course.)   more info @ link below: www.kgbanswers.com/who-owns-the-yacht-called-michaela-ros....

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Michaela Rose Charter Yacht

NOT FOR CHARTER *

This Yacht is not for Charter*

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Michaela Rose

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MICHAELA ROSE yacht NOT for charter*

49.23m  /  161'6 | fr. schweers shipyard | 1984 / 2008.

Owner & Guests

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Special Features:

  • Impressive 3,800nm range
  • Lloyds Register classification
  • Interior design from Diana Yacht Design
  • Sleeps 16 overnight

The 49.23m/161'6" motor yacht 'Michaela Rose' was built by Fr. Schweers Shipyard in Germany at their Bardenfleth shipyard. Her interior is styled by Dutch designer design house Diana Yacht Design and she was completed in 1984. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Diana Yacht Design and she was last refitted in 2008.

Guest Accommodation

She is also capable of carrying up to 13 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Range & Performance

Michaela Rose is built with a steel hull and aluminium superstructure, with teak decks. Powered by twin diesel Deutz (BA 6M 528) 1,040hp engines, she comfortably cruises at 14 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 16 knots with a range of up to 3,800 nautical miles at 14 knots. She was built to Lloyds Register classification society rules.

Length 49.23m / 161'6
Beam 8.8m / 28'10
Draft 3.1m / 10'2
Gross Tonnage 525 GT
Cruising Speed 14 Knots
Built | (Refitted)
Builder Fr. Schweers Shipyar
Model Custom
Exterior Designer Diana Yacht Design
Interior Design Diana Yacht Design

*Charter Michaela Rose Motor Yacht

Motor yacht Michaela Rose is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

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'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

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NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

M/Y Michaela Rose

Length 49.23m / 161'6
Builder
Exterior Designer Diana Yacht Design
Interior Design Diana Yacht Design
Built | Refit 1984 | 2008
Model
Beam 8.8m / 28'10
Gross Tonnage 525 GT
Draft 3.1m / 10'2
Cruising Speed 14 Knots
Top Speed 16 Knots

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The New Civil Rights Movement

How Harlan Crow Slashed His Tax Bill by Taking Clarence Thomas on Superyacht Cruises

harlan crow yacht interior

This story was originally published by ProPublica .

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox .

Series: Friends of the Court

SCOTUS Justices’ Beneficial Relationships With Billionaire Donors

For months, Harlan Crow and members of Congress have been engaged in a fight over whether the billionaire needs to divulge details about his gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, including globe-trotting trips aboard his 162-foot yacht, the Michaela Rose.

Crow’s lawyer argues that Congress has no authority to probe the GOP donor’s generosity and that doing so violates a constitutional separation of powers between Congress and the Supreme Court.

Members of Congress say there are federal tax laws underlying their interest and a known propensity by the ultrarich to use their yachts to skirt those laws.

Tax data obtained by ProPublica provides a glimpse of what congressional investigators would find if Crow were to open his books to them. Crow’s voyages with Thomas, the data shows, contributed to a nice side benefit: They helped reduce Crow’s tax bill.

The rich, as we’ve reported, often deduct millions of dollars from their taxes related to buying and operating their jets and yachts. Crow followed that formula through a company that purported to charter his superyacht. But a closer examination of how Crow used the yacht raises questions about his compliance with the tax code, experts said. Despite Crow’s representations to the IRS, ProPublica reporters could find no evidence that his yacht company was actually a profit-seeking business, as the law requires.

“Based on what information is available, this has the look of a textbook billionaire tax scam,” said Senate Finance Committee chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore . “These new details only raise more questions about Mr. Crow’s tax practices, which could begin to explain why he’s been stonewalling the Finance Committee’s investigation for months.”

Crow, through a spokesperson, declined to respond to ProPublica’s questions.

As ProPublica reported in April, Crow lavished gifts on Thomas for over 20 years, often in the form of luxury trips on Crow’s jet and yacht. One focus of the investigations is whether Crow disclosed his generosity toward Thomas to the IRS, since large gifts are subject to the gift tax. Another is whether Crow treated his trips with Thomas as deductible business expenses. (While the data sheds light on how Crow might have accounted for Thomas’ trips, there are no clear implications for Thomas’ own taxes, experts said.)

Crow’s entry into the world of superyacht owners came nearly 40 years ago. By 1984, his father, Trammell Crow, had forged his real estate fortune, and Harlan, then in his 30s, was taking an increasing role in the family business. That year, father and son worked together to erect the 50-story Trammell Crow Center in downtown Dallas. They also formed a company, Rochelle Charter Inc., with the purpose of leasing out their new yacht, the Michaela Rose.

ProPublica’s trove of IRS data , which contains tax information for thousands of wealthy individuals, includes both Harlan Crow and his parents, who filed jointly. The data shows his parents with a majority share in Rochelle Charter. After they both died, Harlan Crow took full control in 2014.

ProPublica’s data for the company runs from 2003 to 2015. Rochelle Charter reported losing money in 10 of those 13 years. Overall, the net losses totaled nearly $8 million, with about half flowing to Harlan Crow. By using those deductions to offset income from other sources, the Crows saved on taxes. (The wealthy often find ways to deduct the expense of a private jet; the records don’t make it clear whether Crow is doing so.)

For Crow, the tax breaks from his yacht were just one way he was able to achieve a lighter tax burden. The tax code is particularly friendly to commercial real estate titans , and Crow generally enjoyed low taxes during that same period: He paid an average income tax rate of 15%, according to the IRS data. It’s a rate typical of the very wealthiest Americans but lower than the personal federal tax rates of even many middle-income workers .

Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary notions of glamour (for one, less gold plating). The work was expensive: Crow’s tax information shows a $1.8 million loss from Rochelle Charter that year.

In order to claim these sorts of deductions, taxpayers must be engaged in a real business, one that’s actually trying to make a profit. If expenses dwarf revenues year after year, the IRS might conclude the activity is more of a hobby. That could lead to the deductions being disallowed, plus penalties. Nevertheless, the ultrawealthy often pass off their costly pastimes, like horse racing , as profit-seeking businesses. In doing so, they essentially dare the IRS to prove otherwise in an audit.

For a yacht owner to meet the legal standard of operating a for-profit business, said Michael Kosnitzky, co-chair of the private client and family office group at the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop, “You have to be regularly chartering the yacht to third parties at fair market value,” typically through an independent charter broker.

ProPublica interviewed around a dozen former crew members of the Michaela Rose, some of whom spent years aboard the ship, and none said they were aware of the boat ever being chartered. ProPublica also reviewed cruising schedules for three different years. According to the former staff and the schedules, use of the vessel appears to have been limited to Crow’s family, friends and executives of Crow’s company, along with their guests.

Moreover, in an attempt to trademark the name of his yacht, Crow struggled to provide evidence that he chartered his ship. In 2019, an attorney representing Rochelle Charter filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for the request. This required demonstrating commercial use of the name Michaela Rose. The attorney, of the law firm Locke Lord, wrote that the name was used for “yacht charter services for entertainment purposes” and as evidence attached a brochure .

“This magnificent yacht has cruised the oceans of the world with a graceful and gentle motion found only on the most superior seagoing vessels,” the pamphlet said, and it went on to extoll the vessel’s “fine, seakindly hull” and “mahogany paneled formal dining room” that seats 16. But it said nothing about chartering.

“Registration is refused because the specimen does not show the applied-for mark in use in commerce,” the USPTO’s attorney responded .

Crow’s attorney asked the USPTO to reconsider. The brochure was “provided by Applicant directly to its customers and potential customers,” he wrote . Wasn’t that enough?

When USPTO again refused, the attorney provided new evidence: screenshots of the websites superyachts.com and liveyachting.com. These show “links and references to yacht ‘Charter’ services offered in connection with Applicant’s MICHAELA ROSE mark,” the attorney wrote.

At this point, the USPTO agreed to approve the trademark, but the evidence was dubious. Hundreds of ships have profiles on superyachts.com whether they are available to charter or not. The LiveYachting page merely encouraged readers to contact a broker “for finding out if she could be offered for yacht charters.”

“Reviewing the file, it’s not clear to me that the yacht was actually offered for use in commerce in a way that would justify a trademark,” said Neel Sukhatme, a professor at Georgetown Law and visiting scholar with USPTO.

Since April, when the Senate Finance Committee first sent Crow a long list of questions about Thomas’ trips on his jet and yacht, Crow has refused to provide extensive answers. But last month, his attorney, Michael Bopp of the law firm Gibson Dunn, did shed some light on how his chartering business worked: Crow leased from himself. (Gibson Dunn is representing ProPublica pro bono in a case against the U.S. Navy .)

For Crow’s personal use of the Michaela Rose, including trips when the Thomases were guests, “charter rates … were paid to the Crow family entities” that owned the yacht, Bopp wrote in a letter to Wyden. The letter did not specify who, if anyone, paid when Crow’s friends, family or employees used the vessel or how he determined the charter rate. Crow’s spokesperson declined to clarify these details.

According to Bopp, then, whenever Crow used his yacht, Crow (or one of his businesses) would pay his own company, Rochelle Charter, and Rochelle Charter would put that down as revenue. On the other side of the ledger would go the considerable expenses of operating the yacht: maintenance, crew, fuel and other costs. If, at the end of the year, Rochelle Charter’s revenue from chartering exceeded those expenses, Crow would pay tax on that income.

But the taxes of the ultrawealthy often have an up-is-down quality. The clear incentive is to welcome losses, not profits. If, as happened most years for which ProPublica has data, Rochelle Charter’s expenses far exceeded revenue, Crow would save on taxes.

These sorts of arrangements “should be aggressively audited,” said Brian Galle, a professor at Georgetown Law and former federal prosecutor of tax crimes.

“Assuming that the uses of the yacht are mostly personal, Crow should not be able to take a deduction,” he said, calling “absurd” the idea that “the more personal use you get from the yacht, the more deduction you get to claim.”

Crow treated personal trips on his jet in a similar fashion, according to his attorney. Wealthy business owners often derive tax savings from their jets, since business-related flights are fully deductible, and the rich can often find ways to blend business and pleasure , as ProPublica has reported. The company that owns Crow’s jet is not in ProPublica’s data set, so it’s unclear if it reported net losses.

Bopp’s letter describes the standard way that jet owners account for nonbusiness guests: “Reimbursements at rates prescribed by law,” he wrote, were paid to the Crow business that owned his jet. The IRS has a “Standard Industry Fare Level” that jet owners use to calculate the value of a seat aboard a jet for any trip. The amount is roughly equivalent to the cost of a first-class commercial ticket, far below what it would actually cost to charter a jet.

The Senate investigation has also focused on an entirely different tax question: Given that Thomas’ trips on Crow’s jets and yachts could easily be valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, did Crow report them to the IRS as taxable gifts?

For each year that Crow gave gifts to someone that exceeded a certain threshold ($17,000 in 2023), he was required to file a gift tax return. That might or might not have resulted in a tax bill for Crow, depending on how much he’d already given to others over the course of his life. (The lifetime limit for total gifts is $12.9 million in 2023.)

But, according to Bopp’s letter , Crow didn’t consider the trips reportable. The gift tax, Bopp wrote, was created to prevent people from avoiding the estate tax by simply giving away assets before death. But Crow still owned his jet and yacht after hosting Thomas. “Value [was] not transferred out of the hosts’ taxable estates,” he argued. Therefore, no gift tax.

Tax experts told ProPublica, on the contrary, that these sorts of luxury trips should be analyzed as gifts.

Beth Kaufman, a partner with Lowenstein Sandler who specializes in estate planning and a veteran of the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy, said she’d counseled clients on the issue. After one couple took their extended family on an exotic vacation, she said, she helped them calculate the reportable costs and file a gift tax return.

However, taxpayers rarely report these sorts of trips, experts said. One important factor is that the IRS has no way of knowing about gifts like these unless they happen to be uncovered in an audit. The agency has also signaled no interest in scrutinizing these kinds of interactions. In fact, experts weren’t aware of any audits related to gifts of this kind.

The result is a situation where, counterintuitively, the gift tax can be easier to avoid the richer the host is.

As explained in a recent paper by two law professors and a private practitioner, everyone agrees that giving $500,000 to a friend would necessitate filing a gift tax return for that amount. Using that $500,000 to buy an all-expense-paid yacht cruise for friends would be treated no differently. But if someone owns a luxury yacht and takes their friends on a cruise, the situation gets muddy. Crow’s attorney even argues there was no gift at all.

That “doesn’t square with fundamental notions of fairness,” said Bridget Crawford, one of the paper’s authors and a professor at Pace Law School.

How to apportion the costs for Crow and his guests is debatable, Crawford said. Crow might argue he would have gone on the cruise without his friends anyway, but at the very least, she said, some portion of the costs of the trip (e.g., the crew and food) should be allocated to his guests.

She and her co-authors urged Congress and the IRS to make it clear these sorts of gifts should be disclosed and provide guidelines for valuing them.

“A lot of these tax rules were developed in an era where there were a few millionaires and the tiniest number of billionaires,” Crawford said, “and now there are many. This is becoming a more visible problem.”

‘On Day One We Rip All the Woke Out’: DeSantis Vows to Remake US Military as Vets Quit His New Florida State Guard

Impeachment Lawyer Details the List of People He Says Will Be Indicted Along With Trump for 2020 Election Fraud

harlan crow yacht interior

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Donald Trump Isn’t the First President to Try to Buy Greenland

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Luigi Mangione’s Attorney Blasts Eric Adams: ‘Mayor Should Know More Than Anyone of the Presumption of Innocence’

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Luigi Mangione’s attorney made light of New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ legal troubles while slamming him over the “perp walk” photo op from last week.

Mangione is accused of shooting United HealthCare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4. The shooting took place outside the New York Hilton Midtown hotel as Thompson was due to attend an investors’ meeting. Mangione was arrested five days later at an Altoona, Pennsylvania McDonald’s, and extradited to New York City.

Mangione appeared in court Monday morning, entering a plea of not guilty to 11 charges, including murder and an act of terrorism, according to NBC News . Last Thursday, he was flown via helicopter from Long Island’s MacArthur Airport into New York City. Armed NYPD officers, accompanied by Mayor Adams, walked Mangione from the helicopter to the van taking him to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

Karen Friedman Agnifilo, his lawyer, heavily criticized the photo opportunity as “the biggest staged perp walk I’ve ever seen in my career,” according to The Hill . She that it may sabotage Mangione’s right to a fair trial, saying that he had fully cooperated with law enforcement following his arrest.

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“There was no reason for the NYPD and everybody to have these big assault rifles that, frankly, I had no idea was in their arsenal. And to have all of this press there, the media there, it was perfectly choreographed. And what was the New York City mayor doing at this press conference? That just made it utterly political. The mayor should know more than anyone of the presumption of innocence that he too is afforded when dealing with his own issues,” Friedman Agnifilo said.

At the time of the perp walk, Adams shared images to social media, and declared that he was “leading from the front,” according to the New York Times .

“I wanted to look him in the eye and say you carried out this terroristic act in my city — the city that the people of New York love, and I wanted to be there to show the symbolism of that,” Adams said.

Adams is currently facing federal charges of conspiracy to receive campaign contributions from foreign nationals, wire fraud and accepting a bribe.

“As alleged, Mayor Adams abused his position as this City’s highest elected official, and before that as Brooklyn Borough President, to take bribes and solicit illegal campaign contributions.  By allegedly taking improper and illegal benefits from foreign nationals—including to allow a Manhattan skyscraper to open without a fire inspection—Adams put the interests of his benefactors, including a foreign official, above those of his constituents,” U.S. attorney Damian Williams said in a statement .

Adams is not the only one in the mayor’s office to be under investigation. Ingrid Lewis-Martin, Adams’ chief advisor, resigned on December 15. Nine other members of his administration, including NYPD commissioner Edward Caban, resigned in September and October, according to City and State NY .

Image by Marc A. Hermann / Metropolitan Transportation Authority of the State of New York, used under a Creative Commons license.

harlan crow yacht interior

Incoming President Donald Trump is back on his quixotic plan to buy Greenland for the United States. But that’s not the first time the United States has expressed interest in buying the vast expanse of ice and tundra.

Trump’s most recent attempt to get the Denmark-owned self-governing territory is wrapped up in his announcement of Ken Howery as ambassador to Denmark. In 2019, Howery was named Trump’s ambassador to Sweden.

“For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity,” Trump said.

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Trump’s interest in Greenland started during his first term, when billionaire and former Estée Lauder chairman Ronald Lauder suggested the president buy the territory. In August 2018, Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) met with Danish ambassador Lars Gert Lose on Trump’s behalf to float the proposal. At the time Cotton said that Greenland was “vital to our national security,” according to TalkBusiness .

Denmark refused offers, with Denmark’s foreign policy chair calling it a “terrible and grotesque thought,” according to the New York Times . Indeed, the proposal was first reported on as one of Trump’s jokes .

The most recent attempt is just as unpopular with the Danes and the Greenlandic people.

“Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and will never be for sale. We must not lose our long struggle for freedom,” Greenland Prime Minister Mute Egede told Reuters .

As strange as it may seem, Trump is not the only president to try to get Greenland. Nor is the idea quite as baffling as it initially sounds. Though the territory is mostly covered in ice—with areas of pure ice—it has lots of mineral resources , including stores of uranium, coal, gold and rare earth metals, not to mention oil and gas.

Greenland is also well positioned politically. There are a number of American military bases in the territory, and it boasts frequent visits from diplomats and military officials. It was even called “the most strategic location in the Arctic and perhaps the world” by Walter Berbrick of the U.S. Naval War College , who has urged the United States to increase ties to Greenland—and even called the purchase of the territory a “strategic option” that “deserves serious consideration.”

The first time the U.S. thought about buying Greenland was in 1867 when Secretary of State William Seward, under President Andrew Johnson, proposed buying it and Iceland from Denmark for $5.5 million in gold, or about $117.2 million in today’s money. The offer was never made to Denmark however. That same year, Seward negotiated the Alaska Purchase from Russia for $7.2 million ($129 million today).

In 1946, President Harry Truman’s Secretary of State Owen Brewster tried again. He offered $100 million (or about $1 billion in today’s money) in gold bullion. While the offer was popular in the American government, Denmark balked. The main reason cited was that Danes saw Greenland as part of Denmark’s cultural identity and a connection to the country’s history as Vikings, according to The Conversation .

That refusal appeared to settle things. America was happy to merely work with Denmark and Greenland without actually owning it until Trump stepped in. It remains unlikely that Denmark will ever sell—in fact, Greenlandic independence appears to be a surer bet. But one can only assume that Trump won’t stop trying.

Image via Shutterstock

harlan crow yacht interior

Former Representative Matt Gaetz suggested that he could “go after” his “former colleagues in Congress” the day before the House Ethics Committee report came out.

Gaetz made his comments Sunday afternoon at Turning Point USA’s “AmericaFest” event in Arizona, according to The Hill .

“My fellow Floridians have asked me to eye the governor’s mansion in Tallahassee, maybe [be appointed as] special counsel to go after the insider trading for my former colleagues in Congress. It seems I may not have had enough support [to be confirmed as Attorney General] in the United States Senate. Maybe I’ll just run for Marco Rubio’s vacant seat in the United States Senate and join some of those folks,” Gaetz said.

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This is not the first time Gaetz has suggested he might retaliate against the House. Last week, he suggested on X (formerly Twitter) that since he was elected to the new Congress—despite resigning the position when incoming President Donald Trump initially named him as his pick for Attorney General—he could participate in the vote for House Speaker .

“ Someone suggested the following plan to me: 1. Show up 1/3/2025 to congress 2. Participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all…) 3. Take the oath 4. File a privileged motion to expose every ‘me too’ settlement paid using public funds (even of former members) 5. Resign and start my @OANN program at 9pm EST on January 6, 2025,” he wrote , alongside a “thinking” emoji. 

Someone suggested the following plan to me: 1. Show up 1/3/2025 to congress 2. Participate in Speaker election (I was elected to the 119th Congress, after all…) 3. Take the oath 4. File a privileged motion to expose every “me too” settlement paid using public funds (even of… — Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (@FmrRepMattGaetz) December 18, 2024

There are reports other Republican representatives are working to make Gaetz’ threat a reality, according to Politico . Though Politico did not name which representatives were involved, one potential Gaetz ally is Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who backed his threat on X, according to Newsweek .

“If Congress is going to release one ethics report, they should release them all. I want to see the Epstein list. I want to see the details of the slush fund for sexual misconduct by members of Congress and Senators. I want to see it all,” she wrote.

The House Ethics Committee report released Monday found that while the claims that Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws were unsubstantiated, other accusations against him were supported by evidence. The report says the committee found evidence that Gaetz paid thousands of dollars for sex; violated Florida’s statutory rape law; used cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana illegally; violated the rule on accepting gifts from lobbyists; gave friends special privileges and favors; and tried to obstruct the committee’s investigation.

Gaetz sued in an attempt to block the release of the report, claiming the committee no longer had jurisdiction.  Gaetz denied the allegations.

“Once released, the damage to Plaintiff’s reputation and professional standing would be immediate, severe and irreversible, particularly because: a. The Committee’s findings would carry the imprimatur of official Congressional action; b. Media coverage would be immediate and widespread; c. The allegations would permanently remain in the public record,” Gaetz’ attorneys wrote in the suit, according to Deadline .

The committee said that a majority of its members had voted that the release of the report was still in the public interest despite Gaetz’ resignation from Congress.

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harlan crow yacht interior

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Michaela Rose

Motor Yacht

Michaela Rose is a custom motor yacht launched in 1984 by Fr. Schweers Shipyard.

Michaela Rose measures 49.23 metres in length, with a max draft of 3.10 metres and a beam of 8.80 metres. She has a gross tonnage of 525 tonnes.

Michaela Rose has a steel hull with an aluminium superstructure.

Michaela Rose also features naval architecture by Fr. Schweers Shipyard.

Performance and Capabilities

Michaela Rose has a top speed of 16 knots. She is powered by a twin screw propulsion system.

Accommodation

Michaela Rose accommodates up to 16 guests . She also houses room for up to 13 crew members.

  • Yacht Builder Fr. Schweers Shipyard No profile available
  • Naval Architect Fr. Schweers Shipyard No profile available

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Senate investigation “casts fresh doubt” about the validity of Harlan Crow’s yacht tax deductions

Evidence suggests clarence thomas benefactor misrepresented his yacht as business to score tax break, by paul kiel.

This article originally appeared on ProPublica .

harlan crow yacht interior

A key congressional committee is pressuring billionaire Harlan Crow for answers after investigators turned up additional evidence that he misrepresented his yacht as a business to score a tax break.

The inquiry is part of the ongoing congressional investigations of Justice Clarence Thomas’ gifts from billionaires . Crow was perhaps Thomas’ greatest patron , often hosting the justice on his private jet and his 162-foot yacht, the Michaela Rose.

ProPublica reported last July that Crow had taken millions in questionable tax deductions related to his yacht . In a letter Monday , Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden, D-Ore . asked Crow to justify those deductions, especially in light of new information turned up by his committee.

“Any effort to mischaracterize a yacht used as a pleasure craft as a business is a run of the mill tax scam, plain and simple,” Wyden wrote.

Drawing on the trove of leaked tax data that was the basis of our “ Secret IRS Files ” series, ProPublica reported that, from 2003 to 2015, Crow and his father reported nearly $8 million in net losses from operating the ship, with about half flowing to Harlan Crow.

In response to an inquiry about the letter, Crow’s office said in a statement : “Mr. Crow engages professional accounting firms to prepare his tax returns and complies with tax law in good faith. Any suggestion to the contrary is baseless and defamatory.” Crow will respond to the committee to “correct the record,” it said.

Yacht owners who regularly lease out their ships can write off losses related to chartering, but ProPublica could find no evidence of the Michaela Rose being chartered. In fact, former crew members said the ship was used solely by Crow’s family, friends and executives of his company, along with their guests.

Congressional investigators found the same thing when they spoke to former crew members, Wyden wrote. One crew member noted that the ship didn’t even have “the appropriate registrations” to operate commercially. The letter says the committee’s inquiry “casts fresh doubt on the validity of reported deductions from purported yacht charter losses” and “raises serious concerns regarding the tax treatment of Mr. Crow’s luxury assets.”

The committee’s investigators were able to confirm that the ship lacked the proper registrations. “Michaela Rose is not legally licensed to be chartered out for the transportation of passengers for hire in the United States and is only registered as a pleasure boat for Mr. Crow’s personal use,” Wyden wrote. The ship is flagged in the United Kingdom, but there, too, the registration has long been for a “pleasure yacht.” In both countries, a commercial registration is required for chartering and comes with additional costs and regulations.

Meanwhile, not only has Crow represented to the IRS that the boat is used commercially, but, in a bid to obtain a trademark for the Michaela Rose name and icon, his company argued the same to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In his letter, Wyden noted that it is a crime to deliberately mislead either agency.

Wyden’s investigation into Crow’s gifts to Thomas first launched after ProPublica’s story last April detailing that relationship . Since then, the Senate Finance Committee and Crow have exchanged multiple letters, with Crow generally refusing to provide more detail about the gifts and travel. Similar exchanges between Crow and the Senate Judiciary Committee resulted in that committee authorizing a subpoena to Crow last November .

Wyden’s latest letter asks Crow to reply to a list of questions about Crow’s use of the yacht by the end of February.

Paul Kiel is a reporter for ProPublica , an independent, nonprofit newsroom.

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harlan crow yacht interior

IMAGES

  1. Harlan Crow's Yacht Trips with Clarence Thomas Now Prompting Questions Around Possible Tax Scam

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  2. 'Gatherings of friends,' Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow downplays luxury trips with Justice

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  3. Harlan Crow’s Fortune: How Much Is Harlan Rogers Crow’s Net Worth, Salary and How Does He Make

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  4. Who is Harlan Crow, the billionaire giving free trips to Clarence Thomas?

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  5. MICHAELA ROSE Yacht • Harlan Crow SuperYacht

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  6. For Whom Does This Bell Toll? Dallas Billionaire Harlan Crow

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COMMENTS

  1. MICHAELA ROSE Yacht • Harlan Crow SuperYacht

    Learn about the life and career of Harlan Crow, the successful real estate mogul and philanthropist with a net worth of $500 million. Discover his luxurious lifestyle and dedication to public service, as well as his contributions to various causes and organizations through the Crow Family Foundation. He owns the yacht Michaela Rose and a Global 5000 private jet

  2. How Harlan Crow Cut His Taxes With Clarence Thomas Cruises ...

    Jul 17, 2023 · Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary ...

  3. Ever wondered who owns her? | Well, I certainly have, ever s ...

    Well, I certainly have, ever since I first saw her last year (2016), moored in Liverpool's Albert Dock. So, here's the answer. The custom motor yacht 'Michaela Rose' belonged to the late Trammell Crow, a Texas-based developer who once loaned her to President George H. Bush and Barbara Bush (Dubya's mom & pop) for a Mediterranean vacation. I wonder if I could get a loan of it? (Rhetorical ...

  4. How Harlan Crow slashed his tax bill by taking Clarence ...

    Jul 19, 2023 · Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary ...

  5. America's 100 Largest Yachts 2007 #84: Michaela Rose

    Sep 19, 2017 · #84: MICHAELA ROSE—161'5"This yacht has completed at least two circumnavigations and seems in no mood to quit cruising. She was in Denmark in May, then Finland and Sweden in June, and in years past she's been to Ireland, Mexico, Panama, Chile, Antarctica, and Greece. Trammell Crow, a Texas-based developer, has been enjoying her since launch. He loaned

  6. MICHAELA ROSE Yacht - Fr. Schweers Shipyard - Yacht Charter Fleet

    The 49.23m/161'6" motor yacht 'Michaela Rose' was built by Fr. Schweers Shipyard in Germany at their Bardenfleth shipyard. Her interior is styled by Dutch designer design house Diana Yacht Design and she was completed in 1984. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Diana Yacht Design and she was last refitted in 2008. Guest ...

  7. How Harlan Crow Slashed His Tax Bill by Taking Clarence ...

    Jul 17, 2023 · Crow’s biggest deduction from the Michaela Rose came in 2014, when, after the death of his mother, Crow decided to renovate the yacht. The interior needed updating to fit more contemporary notions of glamour (for one, less gold plating). The work was expensive: Crow’s tax information shows a $1.8 million loss from Rochelle Charter that year.

  8. Harlan Crow - Wikipedia

    Harlan Rogers Crow (born 1949) is an American-Kittitian [1] ... In June 2023, Crow's attorney said that the yacht was used by Crow's friends, family, and employees ...

  9. 49.2m Michaela Rose Superyacht | Luxury Motor Yacht

    Michaela Rose is a custom motor yacht launched in 1984 by Fr. Schweers Shipyard. Design. Michaela Rose measures 49.23 metres in length, with a max draft of 3.10 metres and a beam of 8.80 metres.

  10. Senate investigation “casts fresh doubt” about the validity ...

    Feb 6, 2024 · A key congressional committee is pressuring billionaire Harlan Crow for answers after investigators turned up additional evidence that he misrepresented his yacht as a business to score a tax break.