Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas today released corrected financial disclosure forms after Common Cause on Friday revealed that he had repeatedly failed to disclose his wife’s income on his annual financial disclosure forms.

In a document stamped “self-initiated amendment,” Thomas wrote that the omissions were made as a result of a “misunderstanding of the filing instructions,” an excuse Common Cause finds difficult to believe.

On the form, Thomas had checked a box that stated “none” for spousal income.

“Justice Thomas sits on the highest court of the land, is called upon daily to understand and interpret the most complicated legal issues of our day and makes decisions that affect millions,” said Common Cause President Bob Edgar. “It is hard to see how he could have misunderstood the simple directions of a federal disclosure form. We find his excuse is implausible.”

We also continue to be puzzled by omission of Liberty Central as Virginia Thomas’s most recent employer.