Asked if she agrees that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should resign because of text conversations between his wife, Ginni, and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows about efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s presidential election victory, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pushed the option this week of Clarence recusing himself from certain proceedings. (She declined to comment on the resignation matter.) As the Speaker explained her position:
‘I don’t think he should have ever been appointed… Thank you for your question. I’m not gonna go to that, but I will say that in our H.R. 1, our bill to have cleaner government, we have a call for the Supreme Court to have a code of ethics… They’re making judgments about the air we breathe and everything else, and we don’t even know what their ethical standard is?.. Why should [the Supreme Court] have lower standards than members of Congress in terms of reporting and the rest? I’ve heard people say from time to time, well, it’s a personal decision of a judge as to whether he should recuse himself. Well if your wife is an admitted and proud contributor to a coup of our country, maybe you should weigh that in your ethical standards.’
Watch Pelosi’s comments below:
REPORTER: Do you think Clarence Thomas should resign?
PELOSI: I don't think he ever should've been appointed … [but] if your wife is an admitted and proud contributor to a coup of our country, maybe you should weigh that in your ethical standards pic.twitter.com/DMHdpDNRtM
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 31, 2022
The proceedings that would be most relevant to Pelosi’s suggestion of recusal would involve issues including the Capitol riot and fights over the 2020 presidential election. (Recusal refers to when a judge or someone working in the judicial system withdraws from certain official goings-on for some reason or another; the step often deals with potential conflicts of interest on the parts of judges or other individuals involved in the legal process.) Ginni Thomas directly pushed Meadows to keep up the fight against the presidential election outcome; in a November 2020 message, she said: “Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!…You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” Meadows responded approvingly to Ginni’s messages; at one point, he wrote: “This is a fight of good versus evil. Evil always looks like the victor until the King of Kings triumphs. Do not grow weary in well doing. The fight continues. I have staked my career on it. Well at least my time in DC on it.”
Ginni Thomas tried to overthrow the government and people really think Clarence Thomas should be able to rule on cases about it?
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) March 31, 2022
The House committee investigating the Capitol riot will reportedly be seeking an interview with Ginni, who has also admitted to attending the D.C. rally that immediately preceded last year’s attack on the Capitol. Notably, reporting emerged just this week of interest in that pro-Trump event on the part of federal investigators dealing with January 6 cases. Grand jury subpoenas have reportedly been issued to Trump-tied individuals who worked on the large D.C. gathering. Unfortunately, further details — including the specific people targeted by the subpoenas — weren’t immediately available. Individuals “familiar with the subpoena demands declined to identify the individuals who had received them or provide additional details,” according to The Washington Post.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has violated both his Judicial and Constitutional oaths. He should resign immediately, face disbarment, and be promptly investigated by Congress.
— Charles Booker (@Booker4KY) March 29, 2022
