The Bottomless Corruption of Ginni and Clarence Thomas

[Demovictory9]

The Bottomless Corruption of Ginni and Clarence Thomas
She helped push the Big Lie. He might preside over cases related to January 6. And we’ve not yet plumbed the depths of their venality.

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It’s always useful when thinking about such matters to imagine how I’d feel if the situation were reversed. Let’s say that Ketanji Brown Jackson’s husband was not a distinguished gastrointestinal surgeon but was instead, say, the CEO of the Democracy Alliance, a group of wealthy liberal donors who direct their money to certain progressive 501(c)3’s and (c)4’s for various political battles? Imagine also that Patrick Jackson attended weekly, very political meetings about how to advance the rights of undocumented immigrants or transgender Americans, or fight voter suppression lawsuits. I’d write in a heartbeat that he should resign all such positions immediately, and I feel confident that all my liberal columnist friends would do the same.

But that isn’t how it works on the right. The Thomases are a moral disgrace. This one couple has put this entire nation in a terrible position. Her hard-right activism on so many matters that come before the Court, up to and including the condition of our democracy, and his hand-waving insouciance about it all, have done huge damage to the Supreme Court’s reputation. The select committee can’t fix that, but at least it can try to get to the bottom of what Ginni Thomas knew and did—by slapping her, once she inevitably refuses to appear voluntarily, with the subpoena she has so richly earned.

https://newrepublic.com/article/165866/january-6-ginni-clarence-thomas

[Botany]

1. So Thomas was deeply involved in efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.

The Thomases are a moral disgrace.

snip

In other words: Groundswell, made up of major right-wing players like Thomas and Judicial Watch’s Tom Fitton, is exactly the kind of group that Eastman, Bannon, and others might have been plotting with. In addition to that, Thomas is also on the board of the action arm of the Center for National Policy, the secretive, right-wing outfit that coordinates all manner of political activism on the right. CNP Action “helped advance,” as the Times put it, the “Stop the Steal” movement. So Thomas was deeply involved in efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election.

The Washington Post’s big scoop was based on 21 text messages Thomas sent to Meadows (along with eight that Meadows wrote back in response). Are we to assume that those 21 messages constitute the beginning and the end of her importuning? From November 7 (the day Joe Biden was declared the winner) to January 6, nearly 60 days passed. She likely wrote dozens or even hundreds of text messages and emails to key players. Was she in touch with Bannon and Eastman and other key conspirators? This is obviously a legitimate line of inquiry for the committee, with respect not only to Thomas but Fitton and other Groundswellers as well.

snip

He obviously should. Thomas’s defenders always point to the fact that Supreme Court justices aren’t subject to the ethical rules that bind other federal judges. However, as Jane Mayer reported last week in The New Yorker, justices are bound to a federal law that bars them from hearing cases in which their spouses have “an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding.” That statute also stipulates that they recuse themselves in cases where their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.”

Thomas, as Mayer notes, has already ruled on two cases related to the 2020 election. A third, which Eastman has filed against select committee Chair Bennie Thompson arguing that attorney-client privilege should shield his records from the committee’s reach, may yet reach the court.

[lagomorph777]

3. justices are bound to a federal law that bars them from hearing cases in which their spouses ...

have an interest...

Very good point.

[Botany]

6. Thomas never should have ever been on the Court in the first place .... 3 different woman besides ..

... none of whom know each other came forward when the Anita Hill hearings were taking place
and all had stories like Ms. Hill's. Now this is a clear cut case of a Supreme Court Justice breaking
a federal law about hearing cases in which their spouse was involved and he should be bounced
from the bench ASAP but the republicans in the senate will block that just like they will block any
kind of hearings on Brett Kavanaugh lying under oath during his confirmation hearings and the
FBI's no investigation into his behavior.

[panfluteman]

8. Yeah, But It Was a Whole Different World Back in Those Days...

Much more patriarchal or male dominated, and with the consequent male gender bias and double standard much more firmly in place than it is today. I watched footage of those confirmation hearings on a documentary not too long ago, and definitely there was a rather smirky atmosphere on the part of the men present. And I believe that it was none other than Senator Joe Biden who was presiding. It seems like what goes around comes around, and now Joe Biden's karma in letting Clarence Thomas be confirmed has come around to bite him in the butt. It's these and other infractions of the rules and guard rails of democracy and the rule of law that, if allowed to let slide without accountability enforced, could have our nation sliding down the slippery slope towards a right wing GQP fascist coup, heaven forbid. Truly, this case history illustrates the point that we can never know exactly how the Karmic boomerang will come back to haunt us. Certainly, no one back then could have predicted that Thomas' confirmation would lead to all this.

[llashram]

16. after such a brilliant jurist

such as Justice Thurgood Marshall, this appointment by Bush I was very, very cynical. To hell with Bush I, Bush II and this clown called Clarence. And his little wife tooo... America started an open slide toward fascism with Reagan and only stopped, somewhat, in the victory of Democrats in 2020...

[BlueWavePsych]

2. Geez ... pack the courts already.

[KS Toronado]

4. Can we now start using the phrase "Lock Her Up" ?

[FSogol]

5. K & R n/t

[panfluteman]

7. I Have a Theory About All This...

I saw in a documentary recently that Ginny Thomas was instrumental in getting her hubby Clarence onto the Supreme Court, in spite of the sexual harassment allegations against him by Anita Hill. And so, with that, it seems like she has justified it to herself that this entitles her to break all the rules, whenever she sees fit.

[Native]

9. Clarence also threw his sister under the bus to appeal to his fellow repukes

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-07-24-9103220246-story.html

[Demovictory9]

10. Which story do i click on?

[Native]

11. Is my link not working?

It's a really old article. It works when I click on it. The link should bring up an article titled THOMAS` SISTER`S LIFE GIVES LIE TO HIS WELFARE FABLE.

[Demovictory9]

18. I will try again

[question everything]

13. I wonder whether this took place during his first marriage

I may sound bigoted, but Thomas replaced his African American wife with a white one, switched his religious affiliation - I don't remember the details.

[Native]

14. He started trashing her in the 80's. Here's a part of the article....

THOMAS` SISTER`S LIFE GIVES LIE TO HIS WELFARE FABLE
By Clarence Page
Chicago Tribune

In an often-quoted speech that he delivered to a conference of black conservatives in 1980, Thomas said of his sister, who was then on welfare:

''She gets mad when the mailman is late with her welfare check. That`s how dependent she is.

''What`s worse is that now her kids feel entitled to the check too. They have no motivation for doing better or getting out of that situation.''

It was a stunning story. To hear Thomas tell it, his sister sounded like a classic ''welfare queen'' of the sort presidential candidate Ronald Reagan singled out that same year, a painful example of how a well-intended government handout can tie families to a cycle of poverty and dependency.

Of course the real story was never shared by Thomas because it didn't suit his narrative.

[llashram]

17. missed that one

thank you. Pubic hair in coca-cola bottles was all the news...those days. His past sounds like his fellow jurist Brett. Funny how that has worked out for the Thuglikkkans.

[question everything]

12. But this is how they operate. Trump refused to put his wealth in a blind trust

Yes, he put his son in charge and, of course they would not discuss the business at family gatherings wink, wink.

And, to have his daughter sitting at high level meetings. And so forth

[empedocles]

15. ginni & clarence are likely to be [very useful] news figures for some time to come.