Local Opinion: Justice Thomas undermined public trust in the judiciary

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has defiled his office and undermined public trust in the judiciary by committing a serious violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct for United States Judges.

The Code of Judicial Conduct recognizes that “an independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society.” Therefore, every judge is to “uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary.” This is why it is required that “a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities.” Every federal judge is to avoid “outside influence” by not allowing “family relationships to influence judicial conduct or judgment.” A judge should not permit his spouse “to convey the impression that they are in a special position to influence the judge.”

Every federal judge is required to “disqualify himself … in a proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” This includes any and all instances in which “the judge’s spouse … is … known by the judge to have an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding” or is “likely to be a material witness in the proceeding,” according to the Code of Judicial Conduct.

Justice Thomas’ wife, Ginni, is well known to have a personal interest in proceedings involving the events surrounding Jan. 6, 2021, and could be called as a material witness. Such proceedings include both congressional hearings and court proceedings relating to the production of records that include her personal communications with Trump’s White House chief of staff, and her other communications discussing methods by which to attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Accordingly, Justice Thomas is required by the Code of Judicial Conduct to recuse himself from all such proceedings.

Justice Thomas failed to recuse himself from participation in the case in which he was the sole dissenting vote when the Supreme Court ordered the release of records from the Trump White House to the congressional committee investigating the events of January 6 — records that included his wife’s emails to Trump’s chief of staff.

Given the pervasive national news reporting on this subject, Justice Thomas cannot now claim ignorance of his wife’s involvement in the events surrounding Jan. 6. Nor can he claim to be unaware of the stench produced by his participation in the case relating to the disclosure of his wife’s emails, which are important documentary evidence in the investigation relating to the events surrounding Jan. 6.

Should Justice Thomas again fail to recuse himself in any case relating to the events surrounding Jan. 6, or any other matter involving his wife, he should be impeached and removed from office.