Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas praised Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during a podcast appearance for publicly defending him against ethics complaints in recent years.

"You're one of the people who actually stands up, particularly at times when others seem to wither, and I appreciate it," Thomas said in the opening minutes of Monday's episode of "Verdict with Ted Cruz."

"And more personally, when we, my wife and I, were under attack for obvious reasons, you and Mike Lee and some of the other friends would stand up," he continued, referring to the Republican senator from Utah. "So I really appreciate that."

Cruz responded, "That is very kind of you, and especially for you to observe that I stand up in the face of criticism and attacks, that is, that is powerful coming from you because you're someone who knows what that's like and has done so in a way that has been been world-changing."

Thomas, the second-longest-serving justice in Supreme Court history, came under renewed scrutiny in 2023 over allegations that he failed to disclose gifts, luxury travel and property transactions involving billionaire and GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow.

The conservative justice later disclosed he had accepted several private jet trips but denied any wrongdoing. His justification centered around security concerns following the leak of the draft opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the constitutional right to abortion.  

Thomas has also faced heavy pushback for perceived conflicts of interest related to his wife Ginni's involvement in conservative political activity, including her reported efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Amid the controversies, the Supreme Court adopted its first code of conduct for the justices, which directed them to "avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities," among other rules.

Cruz decried the criticism over Thomas's financial disclosures as a "political smear job" at the time.

"They're not looking at any other judges," Cruz said in April 2023 on Fox News. "This is a political smear job directed at Clarence Thomas, because he is an extraordinary constitutionalist."

The Texas Republican, a Harvard Law School graduate who clerked for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist, has written a biography of the conservative justice titled "Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas."

The book, which traces Thomas's upbringing in poverty in segregated Georgia to his three decades on the Supreme Court bench, will be available on Tuesday.

Updated at 1:33 p.m. EDT

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