Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is calling for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the Colorado case related to former President Donald Trump’s 2024 ballot eligibility due to allegations against the justice’s wife.
In an interview with Anderson Cooper on Monday, AOC said, “It’s very clear. Clarence Thomas and, rather, his wife, Ginni, participated in the events of Jan. 6, and now what is likely coming before the Supreme Court is a judgment as to whether an event that his wife participated in, that his wife has been investigated by in the Jan. 6 committee, qualifies as an insurrection.”
She went on to add, “Clarence Thomas’s decision on that, one way or another, and overall the court’s decision on that, would directly implicate his wife, and so, this is just one of the most classic, textbook conflicts of interest, and it would frankly be a scandal if he did not recuse himself.”
As outlined in a letter written by Ocasio-Cortez and seven other House Democrats to Justice Clarence Thomas last week, they assert that Virginia “Ginni” Thomas not only attended the January 6 rally but “was instrumental in planning it and bringing the insurrectionists to the Capitol.”
The letter reads, “It is unthinkable that you could be impartial in deciding whether an event your wife personally organized qualifies as an ‘insurrection’ that would prevent someone from holding the office of president.”
The Supreme Court is set to determine whether former President Trump possesses presidential immunity in the 2020 federal election subversion case, overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Additionally, House Democrats have called for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the case.
Following months of the committee’s efforts to secure an interview with Ginni Thomas regarding her alleged role in the U.S. Capitol breach on January 6th, 2022, she finally appeared before the panel in September 2022, engaging in discussions for nearly three hours. Throughout the conversation, she consistently asserted the presence of fraud and irregularities in the 2020 election.
Regarding Ginni Thomas’s alleged involvement in efforts to overturn the election results, committee members held differing opinions, leading to divisions within the panel.
On Monday, Ocasio-Cortez pointed out that Clarence Thomas had set a “precedent” by recusing himself from a case involving John Eastman, a former legal advisor to Trump, in October 2022. While Clarence Thomas did not offer a specific rationale for his recusal, the New York Democrat cited a document received by the committee on January 6th, which revealed correspondence between Ginni Thomas and Eastman.
AOC Demands Justice Clarence Thomas Recuse Himself From Colorado Ballot Case, Citing ‘Wife’s Conduct’ https://t.co/ot5rZaYbfk #OAN
— One America News (@OANN) January 10, 2024
Ocasio-Cortez said, “I think our hope is that Clarence Thomas has shown that he is going to recuse himself from a case. This is one of the most direct implications that he has with respect to perhaps one of any of the cases that has come before the court.”
