Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY) a Stanford-educated attorney who has been vocal about the current Supreme Court’s troubling ethics issues, called Justice Clarence Thomas‘s refusal to recuse himself from the SCOTUS hearing on whether Donald Trump can be lawfully removed from the Colorado ballot a “shocking and intentional violation of his ethical obligations.”
Goldman shared a post below noting that Thomas had earlier made a decision to recuse himself from a case dealing closely with Trump — presumably because his wife, Ginni Thomas, is widely seen to present a conflict of interest for Justice Thomas on Trump-related matters due to her work with groups trying to overturn the 2020 election, including her attendance at a “Stop The Steal” rally in January 2021.
Goldman excoriates Thomas especially considering the Justice had “recused from a prior case related to Jan 6 due to his wife’s involvement.” When Thomas sat instead this time, Goldman slammed the move writing: “Clarence Thomas is not above the law.”
Having recused from a prior case related to Jan 6 due to his wife’s involvement, Justice Thomas’s participation in Trump’s ballot case is a shocking and intentional violation of his ethical obligations.
— Daniel Goldman (@danielsgoldman) February 8, 2024
Clarence Thomas is not above the law.
This is a true crisis at the Court. https://t.co/kUM5gk0pP5
Numerous lawmakers and commentators had called for Thomas to recuse himself from the SCOTUS hearing on Colorado ballot removal.
In one effort to push Thomas to recuse, eight Democratic lawmakers signed a letter to the Justice — including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA), the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary subcommittee that oversees the federal courts. The letter contended that through his wife’s consulting work, Thomas was potentially in line for a major financial windfall from a second Trump presidency, which the lawmakers argued was sufficient reason to recuse on ethical grounds.
As expected, Thomas didn’t heed the calls to recuse and today the two sides presented SCOTUS arguments in front of all nine Justices.
