ETHICS
Critics Wonder Why Ginni Thomas ‘Ethics Crisis’ Is Ignored as Supreme Court Investigates Its Own Clerks for Roe Leak
The Marshal of the United States Supreme Court has begun her investigation into the nearly unprecedented leak of a draft majority opinion that is expected to overturn Roe v. Wade. But as that investigation gets underway, some online are asking why the Court and other government entities are ignoring the actions of the spouse of a sitting Supreme Court justice.
Ginni Thomas, a far-right-wing activist and lobbyist, appears to have acted to try to influence both the White House and state lawmakers to overturn the 2020 election, and has worked to help overturn the 49-year-old Supreme Court decision that found abortion is a constitutional right.
The Supreme Court is “taking steps to require law clerks to provide cell phone records and sign affidavits,” CNN reports Tuesday. “Some clerks are apparently so alarmed over the moves, particularly the sudden requests for private cell data, that they have begun exploring whether to hire outside counsel.”
Legal experts say the leak of the draft opinion is likely not a crime.
Earlier this month Politico noted that “Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife pushed false election subversion claims — and played a key role in anti-abortion messaging. But she’s not top of mind lately.”
That appears to have changed.
Last week Slate’s legal experts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern wrote: “Clarence and Ginni Thomas Are Telling Us Exactly How the 2024 Coup Will Go Down.” Stern offered up some details:
A casual observer might reasonably conclude that Ginni and Clarence Thomas are working in tandem to lay the groundwork for the next coup—with Ginni taking up the politics and Clarence handling the legal side.
The symmetry between their work is remarkable. https://t.co/wUh5TiHk4q pic.twitter.com/tooRedMQJk
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) May 23, 2022
Apparently referring to reports the January 6 Committee has the phone records of then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, including his months-long texts with Ginni Thomas, Stern adds this:
We all know the marshal isn’t demanding Ginni Thomas’ phone records, even though those records are *being investigated by a congressional committee at this moment,* which makes this whole operation even more of a sick joke. It makes zero sense to investigate clerks and not Ginni.
— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) May 31, 2022
Also last week the watchdog group CREW, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington posted this:
Let’s not lose sight of the fact that Clarence Thomas voted to keep the White House’s communications about the insurrection secret, while his wife Ginni Thomas was pushing the White House to fight harder to overthrow the government
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 27, 2022
This is their pinned tweet from May 4:
Ginni Thomas sent messages to the White House about a plan to get the Supreme Court to overturn the election.
Clarence Thomas voted to keep White House messages about the insurrection secret.
And you think a leaked draft opinion is the ethics crisis facing the Supreme Court?
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 5, 2022
And today:
Ginni Thomas communicated with the White House about overturning the election.
Clarence Thomas was the only justice to vote to keep White House messages about January 6th secret, because he alone decides if he recuses from cases.
That’s the ethics crisis at the Supreme Court.
— Citizens for Ethics (@CREWcrew) May 31, 2022
Over the weekend U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) called for Justice Clarence Thomas to resign, be investigated, or impeached:
Clarence Thomas should resign.
If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 29, 2022
There are no legal charges against Ginni Thomas and no indication she is being investigated by any law enforcement officials or by the Supreme Court. Even the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack “is not expected to contact the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas,” The Washington Post reported last week, despite earlier reports, including from NPR, stating they wanted to speak with her.
Meanwhile, social media users are responding to the CNN article and one by The Daily Beast, and some are wondering why the court is investigating the leak while the Supreme Court justice’s spouse goes ignored.
All this for a leak, but no investigation of Ginni Thomas’s connection to violent insurrection and why her husband didn’t recuse himself from a case involving her crime. https://t.co/fCS23HPkYW
— Building a better world (@blueingreenemo) May 31, 2022
Supreme Court Demands Law Clerks Hand Over Phone Records in Roe V. Wade Leaker Investigation: Report
Wait..@January6thCmte you have Ginni Thomas texts..calls
And nothing being done? So a leak of an OPINION..is worse than overthrowing election? https://t.co/quKRzGHnBO— Spring because after WINTER comes 🦁hear me ROAR (@summer7570) May 31, 2022
” It also suggests the court has been so far unsuccessful in determining Politico’s source.”
If the cell phone searches turn up nothing as well, an eye must be cast on Ginni Thomas.https://t.co/QuXiXhPWfW
— Brynn Tannehill (@BrynnTannehill) May 31, 2022
While John Roberts aggressively investigates the leak, Clarence Thomas still sits on the Roberts Court guided by his far right extremist wife Ginni. We can pretend Clarence didn’t know what Ginni was doing but he did. https://t.co/FZpgc6rTEy
— The View From the Cheap Seats #ConsequencesMatter (@JosephKlain) May 31, 2022
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