Dear John,

The code of conduct for judges is clear. At a minimum, judges must recuse themselves from hearing any case in which personal entanglements could lead a fair-minded member of the public to question impartiality.

Now, let’s talk about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas.

The Washington Post, New York Times, and others are reporting that the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection has in their possession at least 27 text messages between Ginni Thomas and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows where she pressed for Trump to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

Even as these texts continued, starting the day after the election right up to the morning of the insurrection, Trump spoke out publicly and repeatedly that the Supreme Court should step in to overturn the results.

The public’s trust in the Court is eroding. To preserve what remains of the Supreme Court’s credibility, Justice Thomas should recuse himself from all cases related to Jan. 6 immediately. But you and I know he won’t do that willingly. So instead, we’re calling on Chief Justice John Roberts to take a stand.

Chief Justice Roberts should intervene so Clarence Thomas recuses himself from all cases involving Jan 6. Join me in demanding that Chief Justice John Roberts steps up and speaks out now.

The text messages reveal an extraordinary pipeline between Ginni Thomas and President Donald Trump’s top aide, all sent over the same period when Trump and his allies were vowing to go to the Supreme Court in an effort to overturn the election results.

Could this be the reason Justice Thomas was the lone dissenter in the Supreme Court's January order rejecting Trump's bid to withhold documents from the January 6 panel?

Was Justice Thomas afraid his wife’s text messages would be revealed?

Even before the House Select Committee’s investigation into the attack on the Capitol uncovered these text messages, the New Yorker reported on the many overlaps between Ginni Thomas’ and Justice Thomas’ political work and the conflicts of interest they create.

Now, we have smoking gun proof showing her direct involvement with -- and direct pressure on -- the key people in Trump’s team attempting to manipulate the Supreme Court.

There’s no way the public can trust Justice Thomas will be impartial as these cases come before the court.

Chief Justice John Roberts must pressure Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from all cases involving Jan 6. To preserve what remains of the Supreme Court’s credibility, Roberts must take a stand. Please sign the petition now.

Thank you for everything you’re doing to protect democracy.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action