Ken Burns Sets Record Straight Over Photo With Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
variety.comSophia Scorziello editor Ken Burns has made a statement after a photo surfaced of the documentary filmmaker with Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas and billionaire David Koch.
While Koch has funded one of Burns’ documentaries, Burns maintains that he and the Supreme Court Justice have no connections or relationship. “Around ten years ago, Ken was stopped and asked to take a photograph with a Supreme Court Justice and David Koch, who was a supporter of public television and would later provide some funding for his film, ‘The Vietnam War.’ So he took the photo, as he has done with many, many others.
Other than the taking of that photograph and innocuous pleasantries, that’s the extent of his contact with Justice Thomas,” a spokesperson for Burns said in a statement to Variety. “The Vietnam War” is a 10-part, 18-hour long PBS documentary piece that chronicles first-hand accounts from witnesses and participants from both sides of the war.
The photo began circulating Friday after a ProPublica article revealed insight into Thomas and Koch’s financial connections and details about their fundraising network.
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