House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to weigh in on whether Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas should resign in the wake of reports showing his wife’s potential ties to the Capitol riot.
Mrs. Pelosi told reporters on Thursday that there were ethical concerns about the text messages Virginia “Ginni” Thomas sent to former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, but she wouldn’t comment on whether she thought the justice should step down.
“I didn’t think he should ever have been appointed,” Mrs. Pelosi joked instead, adding that she wouldn’t weigh in on the question.
The speaker did say Mr. Thomas should question the ethics of staying on the high court, given the allegations of his wife.
“If your wife is an admitted and proud contributor to a coup of our country, maybe you should weigh that in your ethical standards,” Mrs. Pelosi said.
Mrs. Pelosi’s comments follow reports that Mrs. Thomas encouraged Mr. Meadows to work to overturn the 2020 presidential election and make conservative lawyer Sidney Powell the face of that effort.
Mrs. Pelosi isn’t the first Democrat on Capitol Hill to speak out on Justice Thomas.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer called Tuesday for Justice Thomas to recuse himself, saying there should be some sort of code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.
During a press conference on Capitol Hill, the New York Democrat was asked if the justice should step down in light of his wife’s attendance last year at the pro-Trump Jan. 6 rally on the National Mall.
Mr. Schumer responded that he thought Justice Thomas should recuse himself from any cases on Jan. 6, given his wife’s communications with Mr. Meadows.
“I do think he should recuse himself. The information we know right now raises serious questions about how close Justice Thomas and his wife were to the planning and execution to the insurrection,” Mr. Schumer said.
In recent days, more and more Democrats have called for Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any cases related to Jan. 6 or any possible disputes related to Mr. Trump’s potential reelection bid.
Some liberal advocacy groups, however, are still calling for Justice Thomas’ resignation.
Ginni Thomas, Justice Thomas’ wife, said she had left the rally before the former president spoke and prior to any violence erupting at the Capitol.
“I was disappointed and frustrated that there was violence that happened following a peaceful gathering of Trump supporters on the Ellipse on Jan. 6,” she told the Washington Free Beacon. “There are important and legitimate substantive questions about achieving goals like electoral integrity, racial equality, and political accountability that a democratic system like ours needs to be able to discuss and debate rationally in the political square. I fear we are losing that ability.”
There are no formal recusal requirements for Supreme Court justices, and advocacy groups for years have been pushing Congress to set some sort of standard to avoid conflicts of interest.
• Mica Soellner can be reached at msoellner@washingtontimes.com.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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