(VitalNews.org) – On Monday morning, US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas decided to recuse himself from a case connected to the riot at the Capitol building in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021.
Thomas did not give an explanation for recusing himself from the case, but some believe it has to do with one of the litigants in the case, John Eastman, who is a former law clerk of Thomas and former lawyer for former President Donald Trump.
Eastman filed an appeal against a court ruling that allowed Chapman University of Orange in California, his former employer, to turn over his email archives from his time of employment as a law professor. Eastman argued that attorney-client privilege meant his emails were protected. A lower court determined that privilege didn’t apply to fraud and crime and turned down the appeal. Then the Supreme Court turned it down, but by then it didn’t matter because the committee already received the information and finished its investigation.
According to Eastman, even though the case is moot, the court courting caused damage to his reputation, and to the reputation of Trump. His court petition said that the ruling imposed “a stigma” on him and Trump. Eastman is also one of the co-defendants indicted along with Trump in Fulton County, Georgia, for allegations of election interference, and faces disbarment in California for expressing the option that former Vice President Mike Pence could’ve changed the election outcome.
Thomas has faced criticism from Democrats for the political activities of his wife, who expressed support for the idea of overturning the 2020 election results, which those who participated in the Jan. 6 riot allegedly wanted to do in favor of Trump. Critics of Thomas argue that his wife’s views and activities prove he can’t be unbiased as a Supreme Court Justice, while his supporters believe this argument is absurd.
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