Clarence Thomas recused himself Monday as the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from John Eastman, a former legal adviser to Donald Trump, who had asked the Court to reverse a previous ruling which held that his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election potentially constituted a crime.

In March, a California federal judge ruled that Eastman’s advice to then-President Trump advocating overturning the 2020 election results “more likely than not” constituted a crime. Eastman, a Constitutional law professor, controversially advanced the argument that Vice-President Mike Pence could avoid certifying the election results.

Because Eastman’s actions were potentially criminal, the judge ruled that a since-disbanded January 6 House committee had the right to view emails that had been archived by his former employer, Chapman University.