Democrats ramp up the pressure on Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from future Jan. 6 cases
2 years, 8 months ago

Democrats ramp up the pressure on Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from future Jan. 6 cases

Salon  

A group of Democratic senators and representatives have asked Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from future cases involving the Jan. 6 insurrection. The lawmakers sent a letter Monday to the Supreme Court asking Thomas to recuse himself from those cases and to provide a written explanation for why he did not do so in previous cases, in a move prompted by the revelation that his wife Ginni Thomas was repeatedly pressuring White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to help Donald Trump overturn his election loss, reported the "Washington Post." "Given the recent disclosures about Ms. Thomas's efforts to overturn the election and her specific communications with White House officials about doing so, Justice Thomas's participation in cases involving the 2020 election and the January 6th attack is exceedingly difficult to reconcile with federal ethics requirements," read the letter, which the "Post" obtained. The letter also called on Chief Justice John Roberts to create a binding code of conduct for justices that includes enforceable provisions and require justices issue written recusal decisions, with a deadline of April 28, in response to "major ethics" breaches at the court, including Thomas' failure to disclose his wife's income from the conservative Heritage Foundation.

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History of this topic

Clarence Thomas just gave Trump ammunition in his classified documents case
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Clarence Thomas just gave Trump ammunition in his classified documents case

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Justice …

Experts alarmed by Thomas’ part in Trump immunity case despite 'insurrectionist' wife
7 months, 4 weeks ago

Experts alarmed by Thomas’ part in Trump immunity case despite 'insurrectionist' wife

Raw Story  

As oral arguments began in Donald Trump's presidential immunity case Thursday,the presumptive 2024 GOP presidential nominee is claiming that because he was still president in late 2020 and early 2021, he can’t be prosecuted in special counsel Jack Smith's election interference indictment. Judge Tanya Chutkan, assigned to Smith's case, has slammed Trump's presidential immunity argument as absurd — ruling that …

'Do the honorable thing': Clarence Thomas urged to recuse in Trump case
1 year ago

'Do the honorable thing': Clarence Thomas urged to recuse in Trump case

Raw Story  

House Democrats on Monday called for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a pending case involving former President Donald Trump and the insurrection effort that took place on January 6, 2021. A letter spearheaded by Rep. Hank Johnson and signed by seven other Democrats cites the participation of Thomas' wife, Ginni Thomas, in the far-right scheme …

Column: Clarence Thomas has a chance to do the right thing by recusing himself on Trump’s immunity claim. Will he?
1 year ago

Column: Clarence Thomas has a chance to do the right thing by recusing himself on Trump’s immunity claim. Will he?

LA Times  

Emails and texts show that Clarence Thomas’ wife, Ginni, was active in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Last week, the Supreme Court agreed with rare speed to consider a gutsy motion from special counsel Jack Smith, reflecting Smith’s zeal to thwart Donald Trump’s delay tactics and get a verdict before the 2024 election in the Washington case alleging …

House Democrats call for investigation into Clarence Thomas over corruption claims
1 year, 4 months ago

House Democrats call for investigation into Clarence Thomas over corruption claims

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A …

‘Grave concerns’: House Democrats urge Chief Justice John Roberts to formally investigate Clarence Thomas
1 year, 5 months ago

‘Grave concerns’: House Democrats urge Chief Justice John Roberts to formally investigate Clarence Thomas

Raw Story  

Eighteen House Democrats, all former prosecutors, judges, and law enforcement officials, have sent a detailed, eight-page letter to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to create an independent group to investigate Justice Clarence Thomas over "recent allegations of ethical violations and conflicts of interests" involving his relationship with a billionaire GOP donor who reportedly had business before the Supreme Court. …

John Roberts’ absurd double standard: He’ll embrace checks and balances for Trump, but not for his own court.
1 year, 7 months ago

John Roberts’ absurd double standard: He’ll embrace checks and balances for Trump, but not for his own court.

Slate  

Last week, Chief Justice John Roberts sent a one-page letter declining Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin’s invitation to testify today about Supreme Court ethics. Indeed, three years ago, Roberts wrote the court’s 7–2 majority opinion in Trump v. Mazars, the landmark case testing Congress’ power to compel production of President Donald Trump’s tax returns and other financial records. Roberts …

Congress has clashed with Supreme Court justices over ethics in the past
1 year, 8 months ago

Congress has clashed with Supreme Court justices over ethics in the past

NPR  

Congress has clashed with Supreme Court justices over ethics in the past Enlarge this image toggle caption Jacquelyn Martin/AP Jacquelyn Martin/AP When Senate Judiciary Chairman Dick Durbin this week asked the chief justice of the Supreme Court to give the committee an update on the ethics of the court, he spoke of "a steady stream of revelations regarding Justices falling …

Democratic senators urge chief justice to probe Thomas trips
1 year, 8 months ago

Democratic senators urge chief justice to probe Thomas trips

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee called on U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday to open an investigation into the undisclosed acceptance of luxury trips taken by Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife that were paid for by a Republican megadonor. “We urge you to do so.” The nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica reported Thursday …

Senate Democrats Urge John Roberts To Probe Clarence Thomas' Undisclosed Gifts
1 year, 8 months ago

Senate Democrats Urge John Roberts To Probe Clarence Thomas' Undisclosed Gifts

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday urged Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to investigate a recent bombshell report that Justice Clarence Thomas has accepted and failed to disclose 20 years’ worth of lavish gifts and luxury travel from a billionaire GOP megadonor. “Senator Durbin is, of course, right that Chief Justice Roberts has a …

‘It’s illegal’: Legal experts trounce Clarence Thomas over bombshell corruption allegations
1 year, 8 months ago

‘It’s illegal’: Legal experts trounce Clarence Thomas over bombshell corruption allegations

Raw Story  

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is under fire after a bombshell ProPublica report detailed the expensive vacations he's been given, gifts of a Republican megadonor, for more than two decades, without disclosing certain portions of them – which legal experts say he is required by federal law to do. "In late June 2019, right after the U.S. Supreme Court …

Column: Clarence Thomas’ Jan. 6 conflicts of interest are showing again
2 years, 1 month ago

Column: Clarence Thomas’ Jan. 6 conflicts of interest are showing again

LA Times  

Justice Clarence Thomas can’t be made to recuse himself, despite a law that clearly says he must. And she was questioned by the Jan. 6 committee, whose probe she called a “political persecution” of “citizens who have done nothing wrong.” As news outlets reported in March, Ginni sent at least 29 messages post-election to Trump’s White House chief of staff …

Supreme Court shuts down Arizona GOP chair's attempt to block Jan. 6 Committee phone record subpoena
2 years, 1 month ago

Supreme Court shuts down Arizona GOP chair's attempt to block Jan. 6 Committee phone record subpoena

Raw Story  

The United States Supreme Court on Monday shut down Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward's efforts to block a subpoena of her phone records. As Politico reports, the Supreme Court rejected Ward's request in a 7-2 vote in which only Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. As Politico notes, "the panel is seeking evidence related to Ward’s coordination with …

Trump lawyers who fought election results saw Thomas as key
2 years, 1 month ago

Trump lawyers who fought election results saw Thomas as key

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Lawyers who aided former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election regarded an appeal to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as “key” to their chances of success, according to emails provided to congressional investigators and made public Wednesday. One lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, suggested that an appeal to Thomas, as the justice who handles …

Watchdog group demands 'immediate investigation' of Clarence and Ginni Thomas for possible 'conflicts of interest'
2 years, 1 month ago

Watchdog group demands 'immediate investigation' of Clarence and Ginni Thomas for possible 'conflicts of interest'

Raw Story  

Ginni Thomas, a far-right Republican activist and the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has been a consistent promoter of the Big Lie — falsely claiming that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington voiced its concerns about Ginni Thomas and Justice Thomas in a …

Legal experts mock Trump’s ‘nutty’ and ‘doomed to fail’ emergency Supreme Court motion
2 years, 2 months ago

Legal experts mock Trump’s ‘nutty’ and ‘doomed to fail’ emergency Supreme Court motion

Raw Story  

It weighs in at 240 pages but legal experts are still mocking Donald Trump’s emergency petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn an 11th Circuit Court ruling and allow the special master to continue to inspect the 103 classified documents retrieved from him Mar-a-Lago home. “No surprise here, this was why he paid former Florida Solicitor General Chris Kise …

Trump thanks Ginni Thomas for sticking to stolen election lies
2 years, 2 months ago

Trump thanks Ginni Thomas for sticking to stolen election lies

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Former president Donald Trump on Saturday offered a shout-out to …

Ginni Thomas tells January 6 committee she didn’t discuss election activities with Justice Clarence Thomas
2 years, 2 months ago

Ginni Thomas tells January 6 committee she didn’t discuss election activities with Justice Clarence Thomas

CNN  

Washington CNN — Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, stressed that her election activities were separate from her husband’s role on the high court during her Thursday meeting with the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. “Regarding the 2020 election, I did not speak with him at all about …

Liz Cheney: January 6 committee is 'fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena' for Ginni Thomas
2 years, 5 months ago

Liz Cheney: January 6 committee is 'fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena' for Ginni Thomas

Daily Mail  

January 6 committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney on Sunday suggested Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' wife, conservative activist Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, could be force to comply with their investigation into last year's Capitol riot. The January 6 committee is in talks with Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas' lawyers, Rep. Liz Cheney said "The committee is fully prepared to contemplate a subpoena. "@RepLizCheney …

Ginni Thomas’ emails deepen her involvement in 2020 election
2 years, 7 months ago

Ginni Thomas’ emails deepen her involvement in 2020 election

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a conservative political activist, urged Republican lawmakers in Arizona after the 2020 presidential election to choose their own slate of electors, arguing that results giving Joe Biden a victory in the state were marred by fraud. In the days after The Associated Press and other news organizations …

Newly revealed emails show Ginni Thomas pressuring Arizona legislators to overturn Trump's loss
2 years, 7 months ago

Newly revealed emails show Ginni Thomas pressuring Arizona legislators to overturn Trump's loss

Raw Story  

Ginni Thomas urged Arizona legislators to reject Joe Biden's popular-vote victory in favor of Donald Trump electors, according to newly revealed emails. The Washington Post obtained communications between Thomas and Russell Bowers, speaker of the Arizona House, and state Rep. Shawnna Bolick, who served on the House elections committee at the time and is currently running for secretary of state, …

Newly revealed Ginni Thomas emails show deeper role in bid to overturn 2020 election
2 years, 7 months ago

Newly revealed Ginni Thomas emails show deeper role in bid to overturn 2020 election

LA Times  

Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and a conservative political activist, urged Republican lawmakers in Arizona after the 2020 presidential election to choose their own slate of electors, falsely arguing that results giving Joe Biden a victory in the state were marred by fraud. In the days after the Associated Press and other news organizations called …

Suspicious Clarence Thomas Complains He's 'Looking Over' His Shoulder Since Leak
2 years, 7 months ago

Suspicious Clarence Thomas Complains He's 'Looking Over' His Shoulder Since Leak

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday complained about having to “look over” his shoulder since the leak of the controversial draft opinion that would gut Roe v. Wade. “You would never visit Supreme Court justices’ houses when things didn’t go our way,” Thomas insisted. It is incumbent on us to always act appropriately, and not to …

Carl Bernstein Rips 'Rogue' Justice Clarence Thomas On Call For Respect Of Institutions
2 years, 7 months ago

Carl Bernstein Rips 'Rogue' Justice Clarence Thomas On Call For Respect Of Institutions

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Famed journalist Carl Bernstein slammed “rogue” Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Monday for demanding respect for U.S. government institutions after Thomas’ own wife worked to topple the results of the 2020 election. After protests erupted over the news that the high court is poised to gut the landmark abortion rights decision Roe v. Wade, Thomas chided …

House to hold hearing on Ginni Thomas' text messages to Mark Meadows ahead of 1/6
2 years, 7 months ago

House to hold hearing on Ginni Thomas' text messages to Mark Meadows ahead of 1/6

Raw Story  

A House panel is gearing up to hold an official hearing on the trove of text messages sent by right-wing activist Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows leading up to the Capitol riot. Still, Johnson's memo did note that the idea for a heightened ethical standard for the …

As Donald Trump tried to hold onto the White House, the wife of a Supreme Court justice picked up her phone
2 years, 8 months ago

As Donald Trump tried to hold onto the White House, the wife of a Supreme Court justice picked up her phone

ABC  

In the chaotic days following the 2020 US election, Donald Trump's chief of staff received a flurry of text messages from one of the president's most ardent and well-connected supporters. "I am not saying that Ginni Thomas cannot speak out forcefully, vocally publicly on issues of the day, even if those issues then wind up before her husband at the …

Ron DeSantis getting cozy with the wingnut alliance comprising Clarence, Ginny Thomas
2 years, 8 months ago

Ron DeSantis getting cozy with the wingnut alliance comprising Clarence, Ginny Thomas

Raw Story  

It must be love. Ron DeSantis has a major man-crush on Clarence Thomas, calling him our “greatest living justice and one of the greatest public servants in America.” We haven’t yet heard the famously reticent justice pour his heart out regarding Our Dear Governor but, according to Thomas’s wife, we know the two of them have been emailing back and …

John Roberts can’t do anything about Clarence Thomas
2 years, 8 months ago

John Roberts can’t do anything about Clarence Thomas

CNN  

CNN — Chief Justice John Roberts has long trumpeted the Supreme Court’s institutional integrity, saying the nine justices differ from elected politicians and calling out anyone who threatens to undermine that message. “I think Chief Justice Roberts ought to demand a public explanation from Justice Thomas, and he must absolutely recuse himself,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, said …

Schumer and Democrats say Clarence Thomas should recuse himself
2 years, 8 months ago

Schumer and Democrats say Clarence Thomas should recuse himself

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} Senate …

Clarence Thomas Has Recused Himself From Cases Involving His Son — But Not His Wife
2 years, 8 months ago

Clarence Thomas Has Recused Himself From Cases Involving His Son — But Not His Wife

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has recused himself from cases before the court 54 times since 1993, including 17 times to avoid the potential perception of a conflict of interest created by his son, according to records collected by the group Fix The Court. That’s textbook Supreme Court recusal.” But Thomas has never recused himself from a …

Nancy Pelosi: It's On Clarence Thomas To Recuse Himself If His Wife Was Part Of 'A Coup'
2 years, 8 months ago

Nancy Pelosi: It's On Clarence Thomas To Recuse Himself If His Wife Was Part Of 'A Coup'

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Tuesday that it’s ultimately Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ decision on whether to recuse himself from cases relating to the 2020 presidential election and the Jan. 6 insurrection after last week’s bombshell report about his wife’s efforts to overturn the results of the election. The House speaker was responding to a question …

Clarence Thomas’ wife 'not only embraced the conspiracy, she was trying to shape it’: Ex-Senator
2 years, 8 months ago

Clarence Thomas’ wife 'not only embraced the conspiracy, she was trying to shape it’: Ex-Senator

Raw Story  

Justice Clarence Thomas is coming under fire after his wife, Ginni Thomas, was revealed to have been texting with Donald Trump's chief of staff about overturning the 2020 election. Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Monday, former Sen. Claire McCaskill cited what the actual law says about the ethics of the Supreme Court justices. "A Supreme Court -- any federal …

Justices decide for themselves when to step aside from cases
2 years, 8 months ago

Justices decide for themselves when to step aside from cases

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Reports that the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas implored Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff to act to overturn the 2020 election results have put a spotlight on how justices decide whether to step aside from a case. While the Supreme Court did not step into any election cases brought by Trump and other Republicans, …

Justice Thomas’ wife long steeped in conservative politics
2 years, 8 months ago

Justice Thomas’ wife long steeped in conservative politics

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Through a decades-long career in conservative politics, Virginia Thomas has repeatedly maintained that her political activities posed no conflict of interest with the work of her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He dissented, calling the ruling not to hear arguments in the case “befuddling” and “inexplicable.” Now Ginni Thomas’ personal involvement in that fight has fueled calls …

Justice Thomas’ wife long steeped in conservative politics
2 years, 8 months ago

Justice Thomas’ wife long steeped in conservative politics

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Through a decades-long career in conservative politics, Virginia Thomas has repeatedly maintained that her political activities posed no conflict of interest with the work of her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He dissented, calling the ruling not to hear arguments in the case “befuddling” and “inexplicable.” Now Ginni Thomas’ personal involvement in that fight has fueled calls …

Justices decide for themselves when to step aside from cases
2 years, 8 months ago

Justices decide for themselves when to step aside from cases

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Reports that the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas implored Donald Trump’s White House chief of staff to act to overturn the 2020 election results have put a spotlight on how justices decide whether to step aside from a case. While the Supreme Court did not step into any election cases brought by Trump and other Republicans, …

Calmes: Now there's no doubt Clarence Thomas should be recusing
2 years, 9 months ago

Calmes: Now there's no doubt Clarence Thomas should be recusing

LA Times  

The “stench” has become overpowering. The Washington Post and CBS News on Thursday evening reported on 21 post-election text messages that Ginni Thomas wrote to Mark Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” She passed along bizarre conspiracy theories, including one that the “Biden crime …

Report: Justice Thomas’ wife urged overturning 2020 election
2 years, 9 months ago

Report: Justice Thomas’ wife urged overturning 2020 election

Associated Press  

WASHINGTON — Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential election — furthering then-President Donald Trump’s lies that the free and fair vote was marred by nonexistent fraud, according to copies of the messages obtained by The Washington Post …

January 6 Committee obtains text messages between Clarence Thomas' wife and Mark Meadows: report
2 years, 9 months ago

January 6 Committee obtains text messages between Clarence Thomas' wife and Mark Meadows: report

Raw Story  

On Thursday, CNN reported that the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol have obtained text messages between former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and Ginni Thomas, the outspoken far-right activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. "The revelation of text messages between Thomas and Meadows, both key allies of former …

Justice Thomas’ wife reportedly urged Trump administration to overturn 2020 election
2 years, 9 months ago

Justice Thomas’ wife reportedly urged Trump administration to overturn 2020 election

LA Times  

Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, arrives to watch Amy Coney Barrett take the constitutional oath on the South Lawn of the White House on Oct. 26, 2020. Virginia Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent weeks of text messages imploring White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to act to overturn the 2020 presidential …

Clarence Thomas refusing to recuse in Ginni Thomas cases would 'tarnish' SCOTUS integrity: Joyce Vance
2 years, 9 months ago

Clarence Thomas refusing to recuse in Ginni Thomas cases would 'tarnish' SCOTUS integrity: Joyce Vance

Raw Story  

Justice Clarence Thomas has diminished the credibility of the Supreme Court by refusing to recuse himself in a case about the Jan. 6 attack that involved his wife, far-right activist Ginni Thomas, argued former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance during an interview with MSNBC's Ari Melber on Tuesday. Melber started out by noting that Thomas this week admitted she attended a …

Supreme Court shoots down scheme by Texas and Republicans to overturn the 2020 election
4 years ago

Supreme Court shoots down scheme by Texas and Republicans to overturn the 2020 election

Raw Story  

President Donald Trump has lost in court once again. "The Supreme Court on Friday rejected an audacious lawsuit by Texas that had asked the court to throw out the presidential election results in four battleground states captured by President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.," The New York Timesreported Friday. "The court, in a brief unsigned order, said Texas lacked standing to …

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