John, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been refusing to recuse himself from cases about the 2020 election and the Big Lie – even as new evidence reveals that his wife Ginni Thomas was involved at the highest levels in the Trump White House’s attempt to overturn the election.
This is shocking – and it’s a major, clear-cut conflict of interest for Justice Thomas. How can the public trust him to rule impartially on matters related to the election and the insurrection when these cases could very well implicate his wife?
The answer: we can’t.
Sign the Petition: Justice Thomas must recuse himself from any and all cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection >>
Thanks to the work of the bipartisan January 6th Select Committee, we now know that Ginni Thomas repeatedly urged Trump’s chief of staff to overturn the election. But in spite of that, Justice Thomas has already deliberated on two 2020 election-related cases.
Notably, he was the only justice to side with Trump in his attempt to block congressional investigators from obtaining White House communications related to Trump’s failed plot to stay in office. These records potentially included the text messages that Thomas’ wife sent to Trump’s chief of staff, encouraging him to “release the Kraken and save us from the left taking America down.” [1]
If we don’t speak out NOW, this supremely conflicted justice will be in a position to possibly decide multiple cases that cut to the very heart of our democracy.
John, the truth is: we never should have gotten here. Supreme Court justices are the only judges in the country who aren’t officially bound by a code of ethics – even though their decisions make by far the greatest impact on our rights and our lives.
That’s outrageous. Like all other federal judges, the Supreme Court must abide by an airtight and transparent code of ethics to stop conflicts like this from threatening the institution's legitimacy. Congress should pass one as soon as possible, but that shouldn’t stop the Court from doing so voluntarily.
Add your name if you agree: the Supreme Court should follow the highest possible ethical standards – and Justice Thomas must recuse himself from all 2020 election cases.
John, if it weren’t for the exceptional investigative work done by the House Select Committee – we may never have discovered Ginni Thomas’ direct involvement in the so-called “Stop the Steal” efforts.
We need to make sure that the Committee’s work can continue without obstruction – and that the Supreme Court takes concrete steps to ensure its rulings are just and impartial.
I hope you’ll speak out today,
Devon Nir, Digital Strategies Manager
and the team at Common Cause
1) https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/legal-scholars-are-shocked-by-ginni-thomass-stop-the-steal-texts
