Topline
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) stopped short Thursday of joining other Democratic House members who have called for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign, but she said his wife, Ginni Thomas, is a “proud contributor to a coup of our country” after text messages surfaced last week in which she encouraged a White House official to work to overturn the 2020 election.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill in … [+]
Key Facts
When asked during a press conference if she agrees with members of her caucus who have demanded that Thomas resign, Pelosi said, “I don’t think he ever should have been appointed.”
Pelosi noted the Supreme Court would be required to adopt a code of ethics if Congress passes H.R. 1, a bill that addresses ethics concerns involving all three branches of government.
“Why should [justices] have lower standards than members of Congress?” Pelosi asked, adding she would like to have a separate hearing to pass a stand-alone bill to impose the code of ethics for the Supreme Court.
Several House Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) have called for Thomas to resign or be impeached, while Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) has called for Thomas to recuse himself from cases related to the House’s January 6 investigation.
The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.
Crucial Quote
“I’ve heard people say from time to time, ‘Well, it’s a personal decision of a judge as to whether he should recuse himself,’” Pelosi said. “Well, if your wife is an admitted and proud contributor to a coup of our country, maybe you should weigh that in your ethical standards.”
Key Background
The House January 6 committee has obtained 29 text messages between Ginni Thomas and then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows exchanged after the 2020 election in which she encouraged efforts to overturn the election results, the Washington Post and CBS News report. “Do not concede. It takes time for the army who is gathering for his back,” Thomas reportedly said in a text on November 4. Ginni Thomas’ conservative activism have been reported, but the text messages have renewed interest if her leanings have influenced her husband’s court rulings. The Supreme Court and Ginni Thomas have not yet commented on the messages, though she told the Washington Free Beacon earlier this month that she and her husband “have our own separate careers and our own ideas and opinions, too.” “Clarence doesn’t discuss his work with me, and I don’t involve him in my work,” she said.
What To Watch For
The January 6 committee plans to ask Ginni Thomas to sit for an interview, the Post reports, as part of its investigation into the events leading up to and after the attack on the Capitol last year.
Further Reading
Jan. 6 Committee Reportedly Plans To Ask Ginni Thomas To Testify About 2020 Election Texts (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annakaplan/2022/03/31/pelosi-calls-ginni-thomas-a-proud-contributor-to-a-coup—pushes-for-supreme-court-code-of-ethics/