No, Clarence Thomas Still Isn’t Going To Recuse Himself In January 6th-Related Case

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(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Today, Supreme Court justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented (unwritten) in a shadow docket case, and while you’re right to be excited anytime the will of those two *isn’t* imposed upon the country, it’s not all sunshine and sparkles. See, Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward had sought to block a January 6th Committee subpoena seeking records related to her role in the Big Lie of the 2020 election as a fake elector seeking to cast Arizona’s electoral ballots for Donald Trump despite the will of the people.

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It’s certainly good that Ward’s efforts have been stymied by the Court, but Thomas’s dissent signals he’s learned absolutely nothing from the ethics controversy. Thomas keeps on hearing cases about the January 6th Committee — he was the lone dissent when the Court rejected Trump’s efforts to block the release of presidential records to the committee — despite his wife Ginni Thomas’s role in trying to undo the results of the 2020 election,

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Because let’s not forget Ginni TESTIFIED IN FRONT OF THE JANUARY 6th COMMITTEE. That’s because she was out there Forest Gumping it — getting her paws all over the effort to keep Donald Trump in the presidency despite the results of the election. She sent a series of text messages to Mark Meadows, Trump’s Chief of Staff; she communicated with Coups 4 Dummies lawyer John Eastman; and pestered Wisconsin lawmakers over the election.

And, importantly to the instant case, she blasted emails to Arizona representatives, begging them to overturn the results of the election and appoint a fake GOP elector slate. WHICH INCLUDED WARD.

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So much for the mere appearance of impropriety. Maybe Alito wants to rant again about how the Supreme Court doesn’t have a legitimacy problem. That’ll definitely fix the Court’s, um, legitimacy problem.

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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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Clarence Thomas, Ginni Thomas, January 6th, Kelli Ward, Supreme Court