Dear MoveOn member,
Today, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the first of two cases that will determine whether the high court allows Donald Trump to regain the White House and stay out of jail.1,2
At issue in the case today is Trump's appeal of the Colorado Supreme Court ruling disqualifying him from the 2024 ballot for his role in the January 6 insurrection.
And one of the justices hearing the case is, of course, Clarence Thomas, whose wife played a central role in the insurrection.3
John, we cannot stand by and allow Clarence Thomas to rule on these cases, given his extraordinary conflict of interest. He has absolutely no business hearing these cases.
Last Friday, MoveOn drove a huge mobile billboard around the Supreme Court, demanding Thomas recuse himself. It turned heads all day long—so much so that Fox News is now going to desperate lengths to defend Thomas.4
We urgently need to keep ramping up pressure on Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving Trump and the January 6 insurrection. Will you start a $5 monthly donation to MoveOn so we can keep turning up the heat on Thomas for as long as it takes without taking resources away from our 2024 election program?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Clarence Thomas's wife, Ginni Thomas, "repeatedly pressed" Trump officials to "pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election."5
She exchanged more than two dozen text messages, focused on overturning the election, with Trump's White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows.6
She corresponded with John Eastman, a former clerk for Clarence Thomas and a lawyer for Trump. Eastman had advocated a fringe legal theory that Vice President Mike Pence could block the certification of President Biden's Electoral College win.7
She attended the "Stop the Steal" rally before the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.8
And more than a year and a half after January 6, she even told the House committee investigating the attack that she still believed the 2020 election was stolen.9
In other words, she was a key player in the MAGA insurrection. Judicial ethics, including the Supreme Court's new code of conduct—which Clarence Thomas signed—requires his recusal.10
Right now, as the Supreme Court begins hearing the two Trump cases that could well determine whether Trump sits in the White House or in jail, we need to pull out all of the stops to hold Thomas accountable and force him to recuse himself. But time is running out.
We need your help to create a media and cultural moment that Clarence Thomas will not be able to ignore and to keep up the pressure over the long term. Will you start a $5 monthly donation to MoveOn to power and sustain our effort?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
We know that our pressure on Clarence Thomas is working. He recently recused himself from a case about January 6 and Eastman, Trump's former lawyer.11
Our focus on Clarence Thomas is a necessary part of our broader fight to hold the Supreme Court accountable and protect America's democracy.
Thomas is the only sitting member of the Supreme Court who voted on Bush v. Gore in 2000—stopping the Florida recount and throwing the election to George W. Bush.12
We cannot let Thomas and the Supreme Court undermine another presidential election.
MoveOn is ramping up the pressure on Clarence Thomas to force him to recuse himself—and to ensure that justices are held accountable when they undermine the integrity of our judicial system.
John, the future of our democracy is on the line. Will you start a $5 monthly donation to MoveOn so we can turn up and sustain the heat on Clarence Thomas and work to restore the integrity of the Supreme Court?
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Thanks for all you do.
–Alexis, Allison, Madeleine, Cheryl, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "The Trump Ballot Case Is This Generation's Brown v. Board of Education," Slate, February 7, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186372?t=8&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
2. "The Supreme Court Knows What It Must Do With Trump's Immunity Ploy," Slate, February 6, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186373?t=10&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
3. "Justice Thomas ally says media, Dems are trying to push him to recuse himself before Trump ballot arguments," Fox News, February 7, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186374?t=12&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
4. "Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show," The Washington Post, March 24, 2022
https://act.moveon.org/go/161382?t=14&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
9. Ibid.
10. "Some want Justice Thomas to skip Trump's ballot case. He doesn't plan to." The Washington Post, February 6, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186366?t=16&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
11. "Clarence Thomas recuses himself as Supreme Court rejects ex-Trump lawyer John Eastman's appeal," NBC News, October 2, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/186370?t=18&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
12. "The Ghost of Bush v. Gore Haunts the Supreme Court's Colorado Case," The New Yorker, February 7, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/186368?t=20&akid=374894%2E40999114%2ECkRZs_
Want to support MoveOn's work? The MAGA movement's book bans have forced teachers and librarians across the country to remove books from their shelves and censor what young people can learn. MoveOn is fighting back, including by filling a "Banned Bookmobile" with books that the far right has banned and driving it to key cities and towns to raise the visibility of book bans, hand out banned books for free, and bring people together to stop censorship. To keep up the fight against book bans and the MAGA politicians who support them, we need your help.
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