Mark Paoletta explains in a Federalist column why there’s no reason for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to sit out cases related to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
The left’s intolerance toward an independent Supreme Court and its gaslighting tactics are on full display in the latest calls for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse from the presidential immunity case the court will hear next week. MoveOn.org is even raising money off this absurd claim to pressure Justice Thomas to recuse. These thuggish tactics won’t work.
President Trump is presenting the argument that he is immune from prosecution for any official acts he took as president, including those related to the 2020 election integrity challenges and the events of Jan. 6,2021. The left demands that Justice Thomas recuse himself from this case and all Jan. 6-related cases because he has an alleged conflict of interest arising from his wife’s activities regarding the post-2020 election integrity challenges and the events of Jan. 6. But Ginni Thomas’ activities raise no conflicts of interest requiring Justice Thomas’ recusal from these cases, and it’s not even a close call.
Ginni Thomas is a longtime political activist. Like millions of Americans, she raised questions about fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election. The attacks on her, including in a recent piece by Professor Gary Simson, a longtime Justice Thomas hater, are dishonest and misleading.
For example, Simson claims she “tirelessly lobbied Republican state legislators to displace lawful electors.” That’s a lie. Ginni Thomas sent two prewritten form emails to a group of state legislators who were selected by others. She did not write the emails, did not edit them, and did not pick the legislators. She merely pushed the send button. That’s not even “worked a little” and certainly not “tirelessly lobbied.” The rest of Simson’s screed is of the same level of dishonesty.
Yes, Mrs. Thomas had significant concerns about potential fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election, and her minimal activity was focused on ensuring that reports of fraud and irregularities were investigated. This is nothing out of the ordinary.
