Clarence Thomas Recuses Himself in SCOTUS Jan 6 Case

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Facts

  • On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) refused to take an appeal by John Eastman, a former Trump lawyer, in a case related to Eastman's emails that were turned over to the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riots. Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself from the decision over the appeal.1
  • Thomas did not offer details as to why he recused himself. This is the first time he has stepped aside in a case related to the events of Jan. 6, 2021.2
  • Eastman was a former law clerk for Thomas, and some of the emails in the case in question were between Eastman and Thomas’ wife, Ginni. Thomas has recently been under scrutiny for his undisclosed financial ties to a conservative billionaire, Harlan Crow, and his wife's alleged role in the reported legal campaign to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 presidential election.1
  • Eastman's appeal attempted to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed the House Jan. 6 select committee to access emails that he had previously attempted to shield through attorney-client privilege.3
  • In 2022, U.S. District Court Judge David Carter ordered the emails to be turned over, arguing that Trump and Eastman had likely participated in criminal conduct in their attempts to block the vote certification on Jan. 6. The legal case was later rendered moot after the emails became public, but Eastman appealed the ruling regardless.4
  • The recusal note comes as Thomas faces demands by Democratic lawmakers to recuse from a major administrative law case expected to be heard later this term and calls by watchdog groups to recuse himself from an oral argument involving the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's funding mechanism, expected to be heard this week.5

Sources: 1CNBC, 2NBC, 3Bloomberg, 4New York Times and 5Washington Examiner.

Narratives

  • Democratic narrative, as provided by NY1. While it's long overdue that Justice Thomas has finally recused himself from a case related to Jan. 6, the fact that he even has to is worrying in itself. From suspicious undisclosed financial dealings with a billionaire to the shady legal scheming of his wife, Thomas has been embroiled in far too much controversy. He needs to continue to recuse himself from cases related to former President Trump's election in the future and keep his hands clean.
  • Republican narrative, as provided by Boston Herald. Justice Thomas and his wife Virginia keep their work and political beliefs separate, and he should not be vilified and punished for things his wife had every right to do. It's ridiculous to expect him to recuse himself from every case related to the 2020 election. Justice Thomas is an inspiring and upstanding member of the Supreme Court and he will continue to do what he does best with his decades-long record of judicial consistency.

Predictions