Senate Democrats called on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from an upcoming decision regarding former President Donald Trump’s assertion of absolute immunity in the federal criminal case in which he faces four fraud-related charges alleging he interfered in the 2020 election.
Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee sought to resolve a conflict of interest that emerged in the case due to Justice Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas’, involvement in the alleged plot to keep Trump in office after he lost the election to Joe Biden.
Senators allege Ginni Thomas played a central role in the alleged scheme that was hatched more than three years ago after Biden won the election, but Trump falsely claimed to his followers that the vote was stolen, leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol which sought to overturn the results by disrupting Biden’s certification.
Thomas allegedly used her influence and outspokenness to boost conservative support for Trump’s baseless claims in the weeks following the contentious vote, while she sent text messages to Trump’s then-chief of staff, Mark Meadows, expressing her alignment with efforts to throw out the vote and keep Trump in office — all while challenging the established norms of the peaceful transfer of power.
Ginni Thomas also attended the notorious “Stop the Steal” rally immediately before the violent mob stormed the Capitol, and she was among the loudest voices in conservative circles clamoring for protesters to challenge Biden’s election victory.
“LOVE MAGA people!!!! GOD BLESS EACH OF YOU STANDING UP or PRAYING,” she tweeted on Jan. 6 before the deadly insurrection that has since resulted in hundreds of convictions, including lengthy prison terms for an assortment of far-right extremists who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy and other various obstruction charges.
On Tuesday, Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin put more pressure on Clarence Thomas to recuse himself in the case a day after special counsel Jack Smith asked the nine justices to issue a ruling on Trump’s bold claim that the U.S. Constitution protected him from criminal prosecutions for anything he did while he was president.
The court agreed to consider the case, telling Trump’s lawyers to present their arguments by Dec. 20, allowing the case to bypass the usual appeals process, a step advocated by Smith due to concerns that Trump would try to use the legal delay as a tactic to prolong the case as Trump was scheduled to go on trial March 4 amid the first 2024 primary races.
Durbin, a Democrat representing Illinois, called on Justice Thomas to step aside due to his spouse’s close connections to the case, while suggesting the couple’s larger involvement with other powerful conservatives in the Republican Party.
“There are so many unanswered questions about the relationship of the justice and his family with the Trump administration that I think in the interests of justice, he should recuse himself,” Durbin said, according to The Hill.
During the same interview, Durbin also voiced concerns that the Supreme Court might take Trump’s side in the case, which could potentially throw out the indictment.
“If we say certain people are above the law, I believe it diminishes values in this country,” Durbin noted.
Last year, Thomas was the only justice who disagreed when the Supreme Court decided not to let Trump stop the release of White House records related to Jan. 6.
Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Mazie Hirono of Hawaii also agreed that Thomas should recuse.
“Recusal usually applies when there’s an actual conflict and when there’s an appearance of conflict,” Hirono said, according to The Hill. “I think in Clarence Thomas’ case, it’s both.”
Hirono also suggested that Thomas should have recused himself from other cases in the past that did not involve Trump, such as when the high court considered South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham’s attempt to avoid questioning by a grand jury regarding his alleged role in efforts to overturn the election results in Georgia, where Trump also faces election fraud charges.
“I think Justice Thomas should have recused himself from some of the other cases that came before him where his wife was very much involved. The fact he didn’t really raises concerns for whether they have a recusal practice that makes any kind of sense,” said Hirono.
