Trump’s Lawyers Reportedly Wanted Clarence Thomas To Help Overturn 2020 Election, Emails Show

Topline

Trump’s legal team wanted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to rule on their lawsuits challenging the 2020 election because they believed he would be their “only chance” at a ruling that could overturn the results, emails reported by Politico show, as Thomas has already come under fire for participating in election-related cases as his wife supported efforts to challenge the vote count.

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks at the Heritage Foundation on October 21, 2021 in … [+] Washington, DC.

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Key Facts

Trump’s attorneys should frame a lawsuit over Georgia’s election result “so that Thomas could be the one to issue” an order “saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt,” Trump attorney Kenneth Cheseboro wrote in an email on December 31, 2020, Politico reports.

Cheseboro added Thomas was “our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6,” which he suggested “might hold up the Georgia count in Congress” and delay lawmakers from certifying the election result.

Trump attorney John Eastman responded, “I think I agree with this,” Politico reports, adding such a ruling by Thomas could “kick the Georgia legislature into gear” and persuade them to overturn the results—noting he received messages from legislators “indicating to me they’re leaning that way.”

Thomas is the Supreme Court Justice who hears cases that come from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Georgia, so he could have issued an emergency order in a Georgia-based election case that temporarily blocked Congress from certifying the results himself without referring it to the full court.

The email exchange was part of eight emails from Eastman that were turned over to the House January 6 Committee in response to a court order, as a federal judge ruled they were not shielded by attorney-client privilege.

Trump’s legal team ultimately did not challenge Georgia’s election results at the Supreme Court—they did bring a lawsuit in the lower courts, which ultimately failed—but they did bring other cases protesting results in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to the high court, which were unsuccessful.

Crucial Quote

“[I]f we can just get this case pending before the Supreme Court by Jan. 5, ideally with something positive written by a judge or justice, hopefully Thomas, I think it’s our best shot at holding up the count of a state in Congress,” Chesebro wrote.

Surprising Fact

Trump and his allies filed more than 60 lawsuits after the 2020 election challenging the results—including at least 11 that went to the Supreme Court. All of the Supreme Court challenges failed and the only post-election lawsuit that succeeded only affected a very small number of ballots in Pennsylvania and did not change the election results. Thomas did dissent from a ruling that threw out a case brought by Pennsylvania Republicans over mail-in ballots, which asked the court to hear the challenge even after President Joe Biden’s inauguration because it could affect future elections. The justice called the court’s decision not to take up the case “inexplicable.”

Tangent

The emails Eastman turned over also included communications showing Trump signed a sworn legal document attesting to false voter fraud claims that he allegedly made knowing they were false. U.S. District Judge David Carter reported those emails must be turned over to the committee because they show evidence of a crime. Politico also reported further details of that email exchange Wednesday, including that Eastman knew Trump attesting to the false voter numbers could put him in legal jeopardy. “I have no doubt that an aggressive DA or US Atty someplace will go after both the President and his lawyers once all the dust settles on this,” Eastman wrote, according to Politico.

Key Background

Thomas has come under widespread scrutiny for his participation in cases related to the 2020 election in recent months as evidence has come out about his wife Ginni Thomas’ efforts to challenge it. Ginni Thomas took such steps as communicating directly with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and encouraging him to challenge the results, emailing state lawmakers directly pushing efforts to overturn the results and corresponding by email after the election with Eastman. She also attended the rally that preceded the January 6 attack on the Capitol building. The House January 6 Committee has interviewed Ginni Thomas as a result as part of its investigation, though she continues to deny any wrongdoing and has said she does not discuss her work with her husband. The controversy over her efforts has led many Democrats to call for Thomas to recuse himself from election-related cases, which he has so far declined to do, or resign entirely. That controversy was renewed last week when Thomas temporarily blocked Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) from having to testify to a grand jury in Georgia investigating the state’s 2020 election, though the full court ultimately ruled Tuesday that he must testify after all.