Scholars from the legal community are calling for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any case related to the Jan. 6th insurrection. The fact that he did not recuse himself from ruling on the National Archives case puts his objectivity on anything related to Trump in question. The Trump Era has exposed that the freedoms granted to Supreme Court Justices increases the chance of corrupt rulings. Reforms such as term limits and forced recusals should be put into law to lessen corruption and the politicization of the Court.
Stephen Gillers, a law professor at N.Y.U. and a prominent judicial ethicist, described the Thomas revelations as “a game changer” (The New Yorker, Jane Mayer March 25, 2022). Mayer believes Justice Thomas should be recused from ruling on any case related to the 2020 election, the insurrection at the Capitol, or any work being done by the Jan. 6th election. Gillers says Ginni Thompson became part of the team promoting the idea of appealing to overturn the election of Joe Biden.
The Republican party has allowed itself to be redefined as the party of extreme conspiracy theorists, evangelicals, radicalized white supremacists, obstructionists, crude, unprofessional and incompetent political wannabes. The American people being subjected to crude, lawless embarrassments like Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Madison Cawthorne, and Matt Gaetz has been horrible enough. However Virgina Thompson makes their anti-democratic morphing of the GOP even more disturbing. Having the spouse of a Supreme Court Justice believing a proven legitimate election was stolen is concerning. Texting Chief Of Staff Mark Meadows during the insurrection pleading, “Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!…You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America’s constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History.” If she knows there was no heist, she is a corrupt enemy of democracy. If she doesn’t believe the most fraud-free election in U.S. history was legitimate, then she is a delusional, radicalized extremist. Her influence on her husband is undeniable based on the his constant rulings protecting Trump.
Professor Gillers stated because Ginni Thomas joined the team of people suggesting the Supreme Court hear the case on appeal to overturn Biden’s election, a federal statute that prohibits Supreme Court justices from ruling on cases where the special interests of a spouse could be affected by the ruling must be utilized. The corruption of the Republican has infiltrated the Supreme Court. Instead of supporting the integrity of the Supreme Court by showing concern over spousal conflict of interests, Senator Mitch McConnell took to the floor of the Senate and made complaints about the democrats outrage over the Thomas scandal. “The GOP leader derided “spurious accusations about fake ethical problems or partiality,” adding that Thomas and his colleagues “should feel free to completely ignore all this.”(Maddow Blog, Steve Benen, March 31, 2022). The truth is, Mitch McConnell knows there is a problem with Thomas’s credibility now. However,, the senator keeps demonstrating he cares more about retaining GOP power than about ethics, morality, or democracy.
The Jan. 6th committee must begin televised hearings soon. We know they have obtained extensive evidence and testimony from witnesses indicating federal crimes were committed by Trump and his surrogates. The slow pace of this investigation is hurting the potential for justice to be served. Let’s hope the Ginni Thomas scandal speeds things up.
