“Corruption on the Supreme Court has gotten out of control, and Justice Thomas is the poster child.”
More than 165,000 people have signed a petition demanding that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recuse himself from a pending case on whether former President Donald Trump should be immune from criminal charges stemming from his attempt to overturn his 2020 loss.
The petition, organized by the progressive advocacy group MoveOn, urges Thomas to recuse from all cases related to the January 6, 2021 insurrection, including the high-stakes and closely watched Trump immunity case. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for April 25.
MoveOn argues that Thomas should step away from the case because of the role his wife, Ginni, played in the right-wing effort to reverse the 2020 election results.
“From secret gifts from right-wing donors to weighing in on cases that his wife is connected to, Thomas has a longstanding history of conflicts of interest,” the petition reads. “It’s crucial that we raise the pressure now and demand that Justice Thomas recuse himself from this case immediately!”
Alexis Martinez, MoveOn’s campaign director, said in a Friday statement that for the Supreme Court to consider January 6-related cases “with any impartiality, it’s critical that justices with conflicts of interest recuse themselves.”
“That applies first and foremost to Justice Clarence Thomas, whose own wife played a role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election,” said Martinez. “Corruption on the Supreme Court has gotten out of control, and Justice Thomas is the poster child of why more work needs to be done to stop outside interests influencing the bench. Robust ethics reform must start with Thomas’ recusal, and should continue with efforts to rebalance the court, impeachment of corrupt justices, and passing other reforms that restore the integrity of our judicial system.”
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