JUSTICE THOMAS SHOULD RECUSE HIMSELF FROM CASES RELATED TO HIS WIFE’S RIGHT-WING ACTIVISM

READ THE LETTER

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (March 9, 2022) — Following revelations about the extensive history of Justice Thomas' wife Virginia "Ginni" Thomas's involvement in some of the most controversial matters to come before the Court, a coalition of progressive groups including Take Back the Court, Indivisible, People’s Parity Project, and Stand Up America sent a letter to Justice Thomas calling on him to recuse himself from any future Supreme Court cases in which he might have conflicts of interest, and to publicly state the criteria he uses to decide whether to recuse himself from such cases.

Justice Thomas has recused himself from other cases throughout his more than 30 years on the Court due to potential conflicts of interest, but he has never once recused himself from a case because it related to Ginni Thomas’ controversial conservative activism.

“In recent weeks, your conflicts of interest have drawn scrutiny in every major news outlet in America,” the letter reads. “There is a clear crisis of Americans’ faith in the Supreme Court. Failure to recuse yourself from cases in which you may have conflicts of interest will only further erode public support for the Court. Justice may be blind, but the American people can see right through patently unethical behavior.”

The letter follows banner stories in both The New York Times and The New Yorker, putting a renewed spotlight on the Thomas’ conservative and extreme activism, including Ginni Thomas’ role on the board of the Council for National Policy Action — a major right-wing organization pushing lawmakers not to certify the results of the 2020 Election prior to the deadly insurrection attempt on January 6th, 2021. In addition to past conflicts, Ginni Thomas has worked closely with organizations involved in at least one case currently on the Court’s docket.

The full letter is available here.

Read more about the letter in Salon here.

Take Back the Court raises awareness about the urgent need to expand the number of seats on the Supreme Court to address the theft of the court by Senator Mitch McConnell during the Obama Administration. Without adding seats, Congress will not be able to restore the right to vote, ensure reproductive freedom, protect workers, halt our climate emergency, or pass new legislation. Court expansion, which can be accomplished without a constitutional amendment, is the only reform that enables the un-rigging of the system and the restoration of democracy. Learn more: https://www.takebackthecourt.today/