The top Senate Republican is dismissing demands for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign or recuse himself from certain cases as a “coordinated effort to nullify” his presence on the nation’s highest court.
During a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said, “The left’s quest to delegitimize the Supreme Court found its latest outlet. This time, it’s a coordinated effort to nullify the presence of Justice Clarence Thomas on the Court.”
“The far left wants another crack at what they tried and failed to do way back in 1991. Washington Democrats are now trying to bully this exemplary judge of 30 plus years out of an entire legal subject, or off the court altogether. Far-left House members are talking about dusting off their party’s impeachment addiction for a third consecutive year,” he continued.
Finally, McConnell said, “Make no mistake, this performative outrage is not in earnest. This is a political hit, part of liberals’ years-long quest to delegitimize the court all because our laws and Constitution occasionally inconvenience the Democrats’ radical agenda.”
Watch the video below:
.@LeaderMcConnell: "The left's quest to de-legitimize the Supreme Court found its latest outlet. This time it's a coordinated effort to nullify the presence of Justice Clarence Thomas on the Court." pic.twitter.com/TwupvgvG5I
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 30, 2022
Thomas is facing calls to recuse himself from cases related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol after it was reported that his wife, Ginni Thomas, texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows messages encouraging the overturning of the 2020 presidential election.
On Mar. 24, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted, “Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached.”
Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached https://t.co/ZuZbxkMaYs
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) March 25, 2022
She shared a tweet that noted Clarence Thomas was the sole dissenter on a decision to release White House documents about Jan. 6 to the House committee investigating the riot.
CBS News noted that the justice’s wife’s texts were voluntarily handed over to the committee by Meadows and did not “directly reference” the justice or the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) tweeted, “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.”
Clarence Thomas should resign.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 29, 2022
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.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) argued on ABC News’ “This Week” that the situation is a “textbook case” of when justice would have to recuse themself.
“You cannot have a justice hearing cases related to this election, and, in fact, the ethics rules that apply to all the other federal judges say that if it involves a family member — appearance of impartiality — they have to recuse themselves,” she said.
And Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) also called for Thomas to recuse himself from cases related to the riot.
