House Democrats call for the impeachment of Clarence Thomas

Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool

You knew it was coming. Conservative activist Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, texted Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows about overturning the 2020 presidential election. She supported the Stop the Steal efforts and encouraged Meadows to push on and do whatever he could to help. She voiced disgust that Vice-President Pence carried out his constitutional duty and did not stop the certification of the election. Now progressives in the House are looking into impeaching her husband, Justice Thomas.

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The text messages – 29 of them – were turned over to the January 6 committee by Mark Meadows along with other documents. The Washington Post and CBS News obtained copies of them and published stories on them. The texts show that Ginni Thomas had close connections in the White House and now progressives and other critics of Ginni Thomas and Clarence Thomas want to know why he didn’t recuse himself on the question if Trump’s documents should be shielded from the January 6 committee. He was the lone dissenting vote against it.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is now calling for a probe into Thomas’ decision to not recuse himself and questions his “rationale behind being the sole dissent” of the ruling which rejected Trump’s claim that his documents should be shielded from the January 6 committee. Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.), vice chair of the House Judiciary subcommittee overseeing federal courts, says “All options have to be on the table.” That includes impeachment.

“There is a robust, distinct role for the Judiciary Committee to do its own investigation,” Jones told Axios. “My intention is for the Judiciary Committee, or at least the subcommittee on courts, to do precisely that.”

Rep. Ilhan Omar has already called for the impeachment of Thomas because of Ginni’s texts to Meadows. House and Senate Democrats have weighed in to say Thomas must recuse himself from any 2020 election-related cases and cases related to the January 6 commission. Impeachment talk now escalates the discussion. AOC told Axios on Monday night, “I think what we know, if investigated further, could absolutely be grounds for potential impeachment. I absolutely do believe that.” She has made up her mind before any investigation is done, should there even be one.

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Liz Cheney planned to meet with other members of the January 6 committee on Monday night to determine if the committee would pursue having Ginni Thomas voluntarily testify to the committee about the text messages to Meadows. Cheney has a longtime connection to Justice Thomas and it is hard to see her getting behind the lunacy of the Democrats in this case.

Ginni Thomas told the the Washington Free Beacon that she and her husband share ideals but keep their careers separate. This is completely normal for most professional couples. There is no reason to believe that Clarence Thomas knew that his wife was texting Mark Meadows and advising him on the actions of Stop the Steal. She does reference speaking to her best friend in one text but it isn’t clear who she refers to. In past interviews both she and Clarence Thomas have described themselves as each other’s best friend. Again, it is common for married couples to describe their spouse in such a way.

There has only been one Supreme Court justice impeached. Justice Samuel Chase was impeached by the House in 1805 but acquitted by the Senate. Not only do I think the Democrats are way off base in talking about impeachment of Thomas but even if such a charade happened, I sure don’t see it happening in the Senate. I think even the Republicans who like to vote with the Senate Democrats – Collins, Murkowski, and Romney, for example – would not be agreeable to voting in favor of impeachment of Clarence Thomas.

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Joe Biden sure doesn’t want to talk about impeaching Thomas. He was asked about the text messages of Ginni Thomas during a press conference on Monday and he avoided the question. He said he wants to focus on getting his Supreme Court nominee confirmed by the Senate. Joe Biden chaired the Senate Judicial Committee during the Thomas confirmation hearings. The famous line from that time was Clarence Thomas calling the hearings an “electronic lynching”, that is how poorly he was treated by Senate Democrats.

The leader of the Women’s March called for Thomas’ impeachment last Friday.

“From the day he was nominated to the Court, Thomas has always acted less like a reasonable jurist and more like his wife — that is to say a professional conservative activist,” Carmona said in a statement. “He is hopelessly compromised, conflicted, and corrupt, and he must be impeached IMMEDIATELY.”

Ginni through her actions had “advocated for the overthrow of our democracy,” Carmona’s statement said.

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The last thing Democrats need going into the midterm elections is another major story that will not prove favorable for them, especially talk of impeachment of a Supreme Court justice. AOC and her ilk may not be concerned about leading her party off a cliff but more moderate Democrats in tight races for re-election, facing a red tsunami in November, won’t be a part of demanding impeachment of Justice Thomas.

Two prominent Senate Republicans are speaking out in support of Clarence Thomas. They point to the uphill battle to investigate the justice or to reform ethics rules on Capitol Hill.

“There were a lot of people who had bought some of those arguments. But I think in terms of how that bears on the justice’s work, I’m fully confident in his ability to do his job in an impartial way. He always has,” said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said it was up to Thomas if he wanted to recuse himself, but lamented the focus on Ginni Thomas.

“I just think this is a bad development where now public officials’ families are now the target of all this press,” Cornyn said, adding that public officials “don’t volunteer to have our families dragged through the mud.”

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