The Supreme Court rejected a request from John Eastman over an order to turn over his emails, but the big news is that Clarence Thomas recused himself.
The order:
And there it is: Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself from Supreme Court decision rejecting John Eastman’s request the court vacate the decision that allowed Eastman’s emails to be shared with House Jan 6 Select Committee
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— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) October 2, 2023
NBC News reported, “Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, for the first time, recused himself from a case involving the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by then-President Donald Trump’s supporters as the Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal brought by former Trump legal adviser John Eastman.
Eastman clerked for Clarence Thomas, so there is an obvious conflict of interest, but conflicts haven’t stopped Thomas from hearing cases in the past.
Thomas would never admit it, but it makes sense that this recusal is due to the public pressure and scrutiny that have been on the Supreme Court justice and his gift-taking/partisan political activities.
Justice Thomas did not recuse himself from previous 1/6 related cases, even though he has a clear conflict of interest due to his wife being involved in the plot to overturn the election.
It seems that the public pressure on Thomas is working, but one recusal should not diminish the calls for reform of the Supreme Court.
