Clarence Thomas, the longest-serving justice currently on the U.S. Supreme Court, defiantly declared the justices will not be “bullied” into handing down decisions the American people want. Some on social media are taking offense and pointing to the reported actions of his far-right-wing activist wife, Ginni Thomas, in the weeks and months after the 2020 election.
“We can’t be an institution that can be bullied into giving you just the outcomes you want,” announced Justice Thomas, speaking Friday evening in Atlanta at a judicial conference of 11th Circuit judges and attorneys, Reuters reports.
He called the historic leak of a draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade a “symptom” of Americans expecting to be handed decisions they want.
“Thomas is the member of the court least likely to adhere to stare decisis, the principle of letting past decisions stand,” The Washington Post adds. “In past cases, including Casey, he called for Roe to be overturned.”
Ironically, on Friday he berated younger Americans for not respecting the law.
Thomas “said he also worried about a ‘different attitude of the young’ that might not show the same respect for the law as past generations did. ‘Recent events have shown this major change,’ he said.”
Responding to Thomas’ defiant and critical remarks, some on social media noted Justice Thomas’ wife, Ginni, to whom he is exceptionally close, worked to try to get the election of Joe Biden overturned. She attended the “Stop the Steal” rally before the attack on the Capitol and for months exchanged text messages with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
“Virginia Thomas urged White House chief to pursue unrelenting efforts to overturn the 2020 election, texts show,” The Washington Post reported in March.
The Guardian’s Hugo Lowell, who has been expertly reporting on the insurrection, made the insightful connection:
Attorney Chuck Katz bemoaned Thomas’ hypocrisy:
PoliticusUSA editor-in-chief Sarah Reese Jones:
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