Several lawyers who’ve had business before the U.S. Supreme Court used the online payment app Venmo to send money to a top aide to Justice Clarence Thomas. That’s according to The Guardian, which reports the payments to the aide, Rajan Vasisht, appear to have been made in connection to a 2019 Christmas party held by Justice Thomas. Among those making payments was Patrick Strawbridge, who recently successfully argued that affirmative action violated the U.S. Constitution, and Elbert Lin, who played a key role in a case that saw the Supreme Court limit the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Former White House ethics lawyer Richard Painter responded, “There is no excuse for it. … A federal government employee collecting money from lawyers for any reason … I don’t see how that works.”