Justice Clarence Thomas chooses not to recuse himself from another January 6-related case

Source: CNN Politics

Published 5:00 AM EDT, Thu April 25, 2024


CNN — Amid calls for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from a high-stakes case over whether Donald Trump has presidential immunity from criminal prosecution, the conservative jurist has made clear that he doesn’t plan to step aside – or even respond publicly to the appeals from Democrats and others.

The justice’s critics are all citing past efforts by his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, to reverse the 2020 presidential election in Trump’s favor and her attendance at the rally Trump held on January 6, 2021, shortly before the US Capitol attack. President Donald Trump speaks to supporters from The Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021, in Washington, DC.

Thus far, Thomas has given no sign that he intends to recuse himself from Trump v. US – or even explain his reasoning for remaining on the case, which the nine justices will hear arguments in on Thursday. Judicial ethics experts say that Thomas at least has an obligation to explain his decision not to recuse himself given the precedent set by other justices in the past.

“Reasonable people are questioning Justice Thomas’ partiality and I think I think he definitely owes the American people an explanation of why he is unbiased in these cases,” said Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix the Court, which has pushed for more transparency from the federal judiciary. “I think that’s a fairly low bar,” Roth added. “You think you’re unbiased, OK, tell us why.”

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/04/25/politics/clarence-thomas-january-6-case/index.html