Clarence Thomas Faces Recusal Call From Democrats After Wife’s Comment

Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have called on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving a religious legal group after his wife reportedly thanked the conservative organization for its efforts to block Supreme Court reform.
Thomas, a conservative appointed by former President George H.W. Bush in 1991, has been one of the justices at the center of calls for court reform after it was revealed that he has accepted millions of dollars in gifts from some top Republican donors without disclosing the items and luxury vacations to the court. Questions of Thomas’ impartiality were also raised after his wife, conservative activist Ginni Thomas, pressured officials to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of former President Donald Trump.
Investigative outlet ProPublica first reported last week that Ginni Thomas recently praised conservative legal group First Liberty Institute in an email to the firm’s president and CEO, Kelly Shackelford, for the organization’s work in opposing change to the High Court.
Per the report, which included a clip of Shackelford reading Thomas’ email aloud during a meeting with donors on July 31, the justice’s wife wrote that she could not “adequately express enough appreciation for you guys pulling into reacting to the [President Joe Biden] effort on the Supreme Court.”
Shackelford said that Thomas added later in the email, writing in all caps, “YOU GUYS HAVE FILLED THE SAILS OF MANY JUDGES. CAN I JUST TELL YOU, THANK YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH.”
Senator Dick Durbin, Democrat and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released a statement on Monday that Ginni Thomas’ email to First Liberty Institute is “deeply problematic,” writing, “Whether she’s inflating her knowledge of judges’ views on ethics reform or telling the truth, her apparent comments on behalf of judicial officers create a clear appearance of impropriety for Justice Thomas.”
“He must recuse himself from any case involving First Liberty Institute,” Durbin added in the statement, which was posted to X, formerly Twitter, by Law360 reporter Katie Buehler.
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s account on X also shared a video of Shackelford reading Ginni Thomas’ email, writing in the post, “Commenting on behalf of judicial officers creates a clear appearance of impropriety.”
Newsweek on Monday reached out to Durbin’s office for further comment.
Two days before the reported meeting between Shackelford and donors, Biden unveiled a plan for Supreme Court reform, which would include instituting term limits and an enforceable ethics code. Republican leaders, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, have said that Biden’s plans would “tilt the balance of power” between the federal branches of government.
When reached for comment, Hiram Sasser, executive general counsel at First Liberty Institute, said that the organization “will never back down from fighting” for judicial independence for the Supreme Court.
In his email to Newsweek, Sasser also stated that “no one defended judicial independence like” the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, citing an article from the liberal justice written in 2006 in which she wrote, “Essential to the rule of law in any land is an independent judiciary.”
“We may not all agree on the outcome of any particular case, but First Liberty will never back down from fighting for the same cause as Justice Ginsburg—judicial independence,” Sasser added. “Senator Durbin should listen to those who Justice Ginsburg described as ‘vocal defenders of the Judiciary—intelligent voices that do not divide along Party lines.'”
Public trust in the High Court has steadily dropped in recent years, and Thomas is not the only conservative jurist who has faced scandals related to Trump. Justice Samuel Alito, appointed by former President George W. Bush, was under fire earlier this year after The New York Times reported that two separate symbols related to the failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election were seen outside of Alito’s homes after the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol waged by Trump supporters.
Several Democrats have called on the justices to recuse themselves from cases related to the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election. New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in July also filed articles of impeachment against Alito and Thomas.
Update 09/09/24, 9:19 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional comment from First Liberty Institute.