Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

They fucked up the fucking up of the fuckup!

I was promised a recession.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Let’s finish the job.

We’ll be taking my thoughts and prayers to the ballot box.

No one could have predicted…

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Ah, the different things are different argument.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Second rate reporter says what?

Republicans are the party of chaos and catastrophe.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

The republican caucus is already covering themselves with something, and it’s not glory.

Everybody saw this coming.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

Bark louder, little dog.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Come on, man.

You can’t love your country only when you win.

You are here: Home / 2024 Elections / Resign, not recuse

Resign, not recuse

by | 164 Comments

This post is in: , , ,

Senator Wyden called on Justice Thomas to recuse himself from any matters that come before the court related to the January 6th insurrection and also the 2024 election if Trump runs again. (Axios):

Wyden’s statement comes less than one day after after text messages obtained by the Washington Post and CBS News revealed that Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, repeatedly urged then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to take measures to overturn the 2020 election results.

“Judges are obligated to recuse themselves when their participation in a case would create even the appearance of a conflict of interest. A person with an ounce of commonsense could see that bar is met here.”

That’s a fine start, but why stop at calling for recusal? As we know, Thomas was the lone justice who dissented on the court’s decision against hearing the bogus election challenges his crazy-ass wife was peddling. He should RESIGN, not recuse.

He won’t do either, of course, but why not call for the appropriate remedy, one that any sane government (i.e., a government with laws and unambiguous codes of conduct rather than one run on the honor system at the top) would demand in the face of such naked and potentially consequential corruption? Thomas’s entire career is evidence he can’t possibly be any more biased against Democrats.

Wyden also deserves credit for noting in his statement that Thomas’s “conduct on the Supreme Court looks increasingly corrupt.” Senator Blumenthal suggested both Thomases should voluntarily appear before the House committee, which sure would be helpful, but haha, no, they won’t.

The Axios report says Kevin McCarthy weighed in on the recusal question at a House Republican retreat, saying, “Justice Thomas can make his decisions as he’s made them every other time.” And McCarthy is correct — Thomas will apply the usual hard-right ideological lens he employs to advance whatever cause is favorable to Republicans.

The email revelation is new, so I’m hoping the Wyden and Blumenthal responses are just an opening salvo that will make John Roberts’ worst nightmares about the collapse of the court’s legitimacy come true. I get that the timing is inconvenient, and I understand that we’re stuck with Thomas because he can’t be shamed off the bench. But I sure hope elected Democrats plan to make a big stink about it. Because damn, this stinks to high heaven.

Open thread.

 

Reader Interactions

164Comments

  2. 2.

    lollipopguild

    Laws, rules, appearances are for the little people, not someone like Judge Thomas.

  3. 3.

    JPL

    Thomas will have to be carried out in a casket before he resigns.   It won’t happen.   Roberts might suggest Thomas recluse himself from matters containing J6, but that’s it.  It really is okay if you are republican

  5. 5.

    International_Mikey

    The Federal Government has lost it’s way.  I one time thought that I was being too extreme over how things have been going, but this one is the one that filled the glass to over-flowing.  It’s time to discard the artificial gentlemanly behavior that most Democrats adhere to and call this shit for what it is.  This is a tremendous load of bullshit and if it goes the way things always seem to go, we will know the fix is in,  I hate this. I’ve always wanted to love this country.  I stopped when MLK and Bobby Kennedy were cut down in cold blood.  I was 16 and aware.  I’m 70 and still aware and just as disheartened as I was then because the things I was beginning to fear are now the reality we live in.  This sucks.

  6. 6.

    Martin

    Yep. He had his shot to recuse, and he didn’t do it. The court is corrupted by his presence. He has to go. So, House needs to start impeachment hearings. Run them in parallel to the Jan 6 ones, since they are intertwined. Senate won’t remove him, we know that. So have the House introduce legislation to add 2 more justices to the court before the Senate gets the impeachment case. Let the GOP know what they are choosing between, removing Thomas, or giving Biden 2 more seats to appoint 40-something judges to negate the vote of the 73 year old Thomas.

  7. 7.

    Roger Moore

    @JPL:

    I would suggest “Justice” Thomas be offered a deal: he resigns and his wife gets to turn state’s evidence.  If he doesn’t resign, she will be prosecuted for her role in J6.

  8. 8.

    Old School

    Seems like a good place to reminisce about Abe Fortas.

    Here’s the Wikipedia version:

    Ethics scandal and resignation

    Fortas remained an associate justice, but in 1969, a new scandal arose. Fortas had accepted a US$20,000 (equivalent to $141,000 in 2020[35]) retainer from the family foundation of Wall Street financier Louis Wolfson, a friend and former client, in January 1966. In return for unspecified advice, it was to pay Fortas $20,000 a year for the rest of Fortas’s life (and then pay his widow for the rest of her life).[36] Wolfson was under investigation for securities violations at the time, and it was alleged that he expected that his arrangement with Fortas would help him stave off criminal charges or help him secure a presidential pardon. He asked Fortas to help him secure a pardon from Johnson, which Fortas claimed that he did not do. Fortas recused himself from Wolfson’s case when it came before the Court and had earlier returned the retainer but not until Wolfson had been indicted twice.[2]

    In May 1969, Life magazine chronicled Fortas’s tangled relations with Wolfson. The revelation engendered calls for Fortas to be impeached, and a threat of criminal indictment from Attorney General John N. Mitchell.[23] Chief Justice Earl Warren urged Fortas to resign to protect the reputation of the Court and avoid impeachment proceedings, as did Justice Hugo Black. However, when Fortas said it would “kill” his wife, Black changed his mind and urged Fortas not to resign. None the less, Fortas ultimately decided resignation would be best for him and for his wife’s legal career, he reportedly told his colleagues. William J. Brennan later said, “We were just stunned.” Fortas later said he “resigned to save Douglas,” another justice who was being investigated for a similar scandal at the same time.[2] Fortas resigned from the Court on May 14, 1969.[1]

    In 1970, Louis Wolfson surreptitiously taped a private telephone call with Fortas. The transcript of this call was disclosed by Wolfson’s lawyer, Bernard Fensterwald, to Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward in 1977. The Washington Post subsequently published several excerpts from the transcript, including language suggesting that Fortas might indeed have spoken with President Johnson about a pardon for Wolfson, but there is no evidence that it was a quid pro quo rather than a voluntary intervention for a friend. Wolfson was convicted of violating federal securities laws later that year and spent time in prison.[37]

    Fortas’s seat on the Supreme Court was vacant until June 1970, when Harry Blackmun was sworn into office.[1] This was Nixon’s third attempt to fill the vacancy. His earlier failed nominations were of Clement Haynsworth in September 1969 and G. Harrold Carswell in February 1970.[19]

  9. 9.

    Tony Jay

    Might be an idea if Democrats across the board took your advice and, instead of wearily accepting the truisms that Republicans can’t be shamed, don’t have to follow rules, and always get away with stuff, spoke as if Republicans should be ashamed, should follow the rules, and won’t be allowed to get away with stuff.

    Thomas’ need to refuse himself is obvious, unambiguous and easy to talk about. Make a big deal about it, and when the Republicans try to play the victim, ramp it up to demand that he resign. You never know, people might even like it.

  10. 10.

    MattF

    I suspect that Thomas found his hospital bed to be helpfully inaccessible for a few days. It’s possible that he was sicker than he realized- that happens when you get old. It just takes longer to recuperate, and no reporters, please.

  11. 11.

    Kay

    Mrs. Thomas has to turn over her phone records and testify under oath about her role in the events of January 6th.

  12. 12.

    Jeffro

    I don’t care that he won’t resign.  Dems should still pound the ever-loving shit out of this issue, at least until the next horrendous case of Republican corruption rears its head.

    Call for him to resign.

    Call for both of them to appear before the Jan 6th commission.

    And to break through to the American North Koreans Faux News watchers, who apparently haven’t heard a word of this, let’s have a prime-time address to the country.  (Sorry Uncle Joe, I know you’ve been kind of busy…)

  14. 14.

    MisterForkbeard

    Yes. At best Thomas knowingly tried to get his wife out of an investigation. At worst he tried to shield the Republican Party from charges of sedition. He’s proven he can’t be relied on the recuse when he needs to and has his finger in the wind for his political party and can’t be relied on for any kind of non-partisan judgment.

    He needs to go. Resign tomorrow.

  15. 15.

    Ocotillo

    The court is corrupt, not just in how it was constructed, the naked partisan grab by McConnell but the conflicted justices as well.

    Shouldn’t Roberts and Bart recuse themselves whenever voting rights issues come before the court since they were GOP political operatives in their prior lives?

  16. 16.

    Ocotillo

    @Ocotillo:  If I recall, during Kavanaugh’s meltdown during his hearings he said something to the effect of getting revenge.  It was in the context where he was going off about the Devil Incarnate or as she is know to the rest of us, Hillary.

  17. 17.

    delk

    Retire. Take the pension, divorce the nut case, and do minimum grifting for maximum value.

  18. 18.

    debbie

    @Jeffro:

    He has to resign. He’s shown he is incapable of impartiality. He’s betrayed his oath of office. He’s demonstrated he isn’t acting in good behavior. What more could disqualify a judge?

  19. 19.

    Kay

    @delk:

    All her stuff is straight out of Q. She’s definitely in the cult, which means he’s marinating in it 24/7.

  20. 20.

    zhena gogolia

    @Kay: I started reading the New York Times Magazine article about the Thomases. I got to the part where it said that Clarence has become a “shadow chief justice” because as Roberts votes with the liberals, Clarence gets to assign the majority opinions. It made me sick and I had to stop reading.

    Whenever anybody gives me crap about what an honorable man GHWB was, I say, “He replaced Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas.”

  24. 24.

    catfishncod

    Steadily escalate and keep talking about the obstinance of their corruption.

    1) Ask Thomas to recuse himself.
    2) When Thomas doesn’t recuse, ask Roberts to ask Thomas to recuse.
    3) When Roberts doesn’t ask, ask both Thomases to voluntarily appear before the J6 committee.
    4) When the Thomases refuse, summon Ginni Thomas. Clarence likely can’t be summoned as he is an independent branch of government, but repeat the request to appear as well.
    5) When they refuse THAT, demand Thomas resign — and subpoena Ginni Thomas.
    6) When neither comply, ask Roberts to demand Thomas’ resignation.
    7) When that doesn’t happen either (because that undoes one of the McConnell seat-swipes), start the impeachment proceedings in the House.

    8) When the House’s own insurrectionists scream, introduce the bill to pack the court to 13+, and another to add just two seats (to negate Thomas’ vote entirely). Present the choice: cut your losses and ditch the Thomases, or lose the Court entirely.

    9) Having sunken so much into the capture of the judiciary, I don’t expect loss-cutting — especially from McConnell, for whom this is the magnum opus. So run in the general this year, and especially in 2024, explicitly on the basis that the Court is corrupted and must be reformed — and defied until reformed.

  25. 25.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Justice “Uncle” Thomas was the GOP’s rebuttal to the honorable Thurgood Marshall. Shameful.

  27. 27.

    oldgold

    “The judiciary . . . has no influence over either the sword or the purse; no direction either of the strength or of the wealth of the society; and can take no active resolution whatever. It may truly be said to have neither force nor will, but merely judgment.” In Federalist No. 78 – Alexander Hamilton

    The Supremes would do well to remember this and act accordingly.

  28. 28.

    Jeffro

    @catfishncod: I agree that it’s important to impeach him, regardless of the likely outcome.  Let’s have that trial.  Let’s let the GQP try and defend what he did.

  31. 31.

    cmorenc

    Abe Fortas, a late relatively liberal SCOTUS justice 1965-1969, had to withdraw from being President Johnson’s nomination due to a series of financial conflict of interest scandals, and subsequently resign from the Court.  Clarence Thomas’s own conflicts of interest, though not directly financial, are every bit as egregious as Fortas’s – and while then-recently retired Chief Justice Earl Warren pressured Fortas into doing the right thing, there’s no sign of current Chief Justice Roberts confronting Thomas to do the right thing and at least recuse himself from cases being actively pushed by RW activist wife Ginny.

  33. 33.

    Calouste

    @debbie: There’s also the bit where he put his reputation, as far as he has any, on the line for a vote he lost 8-1 anyway. That’s spectacularly bad judgement. There was absolutely no benefit in what he did, except I guess appeasing his wife, but he did it anyway.

  34. 34.

    Nora

    He will not recuse himself.  His example is Justice Scalia, who would not recuse himself from a pending case when he had actually engaged in a social event with one of the parties while the case was pending, and mocked anyone who suggested he couldn’t be impartial.  That’s his precedent, and Thomas knows nobody forced Scalia to sit that one out and so no one will force him to sit any cases out.

    On the other hand, Jane Mayer’s article suggests Thomas is in violation of federal law — not just the rules of Judicial Conduct which apparently don’t apply to Supreme Court Justices — because of his wife’s shenanigans and his sitting on cases involving the revelation of those shenanigans.

    Is there any policy against prosecuting sitting Supreme Court Justices for felonies?  I can’t remember ever hearing of any.

  35. 35.

    JPL

    @catfishncod: I would also suggest running on the record, in addition to the corrupt court.     Unemployment is at a low and the transportation bill is a big win.

  36. 36.

    Wapiti

    So how many of the court’s recent 5-4 rulings were swayed by Thomas family interests? I think we have to assume all of them, Katie.

  37. 37.

    Fleeting Expletive

    I read a little lawyer joke on twitter yesterday that cracked me up:

    “Rule eleven is trending. For the non-lawyers, Rule 11 is the rule that allows the federal court to impose the Finding Out when lawyers do the F*cking Around.”  Mike Dunford, March 24, 2o22.

  38. 38.

    Nora

    @zhena gogolia: I like to think that on every night of his life since he took the seat on the Supreme Court, Justice Thomas is haunted by nightmares of Justice Marshall beating the shit out of him.

    Nominating Thomas was the same cynicism as nominating Barrett.  One black man is the same as another; one woman is the same as another.

    I hate those people.

  39. 39.

    trollhattan

    Can cancel culture work on somebody who never speaks? Quit, Clarence, and take that hag with you.

    Meanwhile, pushback on Vlad.

    Kherson ‘contested territory again’ – US defence official
    Kherson, the southern Ukrainian city that was the first major population centre captured at the start of the war, is “contested territory again,” a US defence official has told journalists. If the city, which is relatively close to the Crimean peninsula, were to be retaken by Ukraine, it would represent a major setback for Russia’s offensive.
    Russia’s military has disputed that it has lost control of Kherson, and Ukrainians on the ground there have not reported that it has been recaptured. “The Ukrainians are trying to take Kherson back, and we would argue that Kherson is actually contested territory again,” the Pentagon official told reporters on Friday.
    “We can’t corroborate exactly who is in control of Kherson but the point is, it doesn’t appear to be as solidly in Russian control as it was before,” added the official, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.
    Fighting is ongoing in the larger region of Kherson Oblast, according to the latest reports, as Russia continues to focus its efforts on taking the southern Black Sea coast.
    -BBC

  40. 40.

    Kay

    Here’s a story about Clarence Thomas:

    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. Unfortunately, Thomas` stunning story wasn`t true.

  41. 41.

    Winston

    I’d say start another investigation in the house so as not to detract from the existing one or maybe a subcommittee.

  42. 42.

    WaterGirl

    I think the we shouldn’t push Thomas to resign until the votes are cast and Justice Jackson is safely on the supreme court.

    Then I think we should hammer the hell out of this, anywhere and everywhere.

  43. 43.

    kindness

    Well I don’t think John Roberts’ view of the legacy of the Supreme Court under his reign will be the same as what I would see it.  I see a lot of liberals giving him credit that the actions that have already transpired have made him wince thinking it will tarnish his legacy.  I don’t see that at all.  Roberts is getting exactly what he wants out of the state of US law.  John Roberts won’t be shamed because he doesn’t see his actions as shameful.  Only we do and that’s no skin off his nose.​

  44. 44.

    MomSense

    Holy shit – in O/T big legal news.  Elliott Cutler who was the Independent spoiler in 2010’s governor’s race in Maine was just arrested for possession of child pornography. His homes were raised RAIDED yesterday morning and I was sure it was going to be tax or financial.  Did not see this coming. Wow.

  45. 45.

    JoyceH

    News reports that Thomas was released from hospital today. And agree with above, appoint his replacement anyway. Another one for Gorsuch, who stole Merrick Garland’s seat. And one for Kavanaugh, who is too fond of beer.

    (Open thread- back from an outing and need to know. What genius realized that bacon could go in sushi? I want to shake his hand!)

  46. 46.

    catfishncod

    @JPL: I did not mean to imply ‘drop all other issues’. Just that this should be the line of argument on judiciary matters — and a component for all the topics that hinge upon the judiciary.

    @zhena gogolia: People keep saying that. One of these days I might actually start writing one.

    @WaterGirl: I agree, wait until Jackson is over before major actions. Not only for KISS principle, but because it will take away the ability to hold Jackson’s seat hostage.

    @Winston: Yeah, once the Thomases have made their refusal to cooperate public and clear, refer to the Judiciary Committee to open their own investigation, explicitly with the purpose of considering a new Judiciary Act. I should have spelled that out more fully.

  48. 48.

    Old School

    @WaterGirl:

    I think the we shouldn’t push Thomas to resign until the votes are cast and Justice Jackson is safely on the supreme court.

    Do you think someone’s vote on Jackson would change because of Thomas’ status?

  53. 53.

    Baud

    Somewhat OT.  65 justices are slightly less crazy than Texas judges.  43 are not.  Re: the takeover of the military.

    The application for a partial stay (No. 21A477) presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is granted. The district court’s January 3, 2022 order, insofar as it precludes the Navy from considering respondents’ vaccination status in making deployment, assignment, and other operational decisions, is stayed pending disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and disposition of the petition for a writ of certiorari, if such writ is timely sought. Should the petition for a writ of certiorari be denied, this order shall terminate automatically. In the event the petition for a writ of certiorari is granted, the order shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. Justice Thomas would deny the application for a partial stay. Justice Kavanaugh, concurring. (Detached opinion) Justice Alito, with whom Justice Gorsuch joins, dissenting. (Detached opinion)

     

    ETA: My initial count was wrong. 6-3. Kavanaugh was on the sane side.

  55. 55.

    JanieM

    @MomSense: My son just sent me that news. I know almost nothing about Cutler, but the fact that he ran again in 2014 after the role his presence played in the 2010 race made me think his arrogance must be off the charts. Like you, when i saw the news of the raid a day or two ago I thought it would be something financial. This is far more dismaying, but I suppose in a way not surprising; the arrogance would mean he was probably sure that he, unlike lesser beings, would never get caught

    ETA two sayings: 1) When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time. 2) It’s probably well to remember “innocent until proven guilty.” Still, it smells pretty bad.

  58. 58.

    germy

    If you think the Ginni Thomas texts are bad, wait until you learn about how Clarence Thomas successfully conspired with four other high-ranking government officials to overturn the result of the 2000 election.

    — Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) March 25, 2022

  62. 62.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    It’s not just resign, there is needs to be some kind of oversite on SCOTUS because their shit out of control.  It’s not some secretive priesthood beyond public scrutiny.

  63. 63.

    Benw

    The integrity of this SC is already a dumpster fire. It has been openly stacked with hard right operatives to further Republican goals. And that’s been true for *decades* when they just fucking stole the presidency in 2000

  64. 64.

    Renie

    I am so sick and tired and extremely disgusted with so many people in our governments/courts/etc., getting away with corruption, rules violations, oath violations, felony violations (looking at you Alvin  Bragg – Manhattan DA).   Will our country ever again bear the simple standards of law and order?   and just plan decency?

  65. 65.

    Kay

    @kindness:

    I think they care a lot about the credibility of the court. It’s why Thomas, Alito and Barrett go on those whining speaking tours. They’re demanding we find them credible. It’s part of the perceived value of the seat they hold.

  67. 67.

    germy

    https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/25/politics/ginni-thomas-clarence-thomas-supreme-court-ethics/

    Three years ago this month, Justice Elena Kagan told a House committee that Roberts was considering whether to adopt a conduct code applicable to the justices.

    “It’s something that is being thought very seriously about,” Kagan said at the time.

    But nothing apparently came of that and since then, controversies undermining public confidence in the justices’ activities have only mounted.

  69. 69.

    Kay

    @Renie:

    I was surprised how disappointed I was in Bragg. I never really believed Trump would ever be prosecuted, especially in NYC after they gae him a pass for 50 years, but I was still disappointed. Hope springs eternal, I guess.

    It’s just gross how much special treatment powerful people get. It disgusts me, especially as compared to how harsh and unforgiving our legal system is to less powerful people.

  70. 70.

    Jim Appleton

    @International_Mikey:

    I second.

    I’m a few years younger than you.

    This country and to a considerable degree the world now trend openly in the direction of elite lawlessness.

    A guy here in Oregon gets six years for filming highly inappropriately.  A truly vast right-wing conspiracy is actually winning the PR war, blameless, not in jail.  Meadows, both Thomases, the Trump Organization, and on, unaccountable, amidst chaos, take us very far in a direction not seen globally since Stalin and Hitler.

    Call it corruption, authoritarianism, oligarchy, national socialism.  We’re in that neighborhood.

  72. 72.

    debbie

    If you haven’t seen this NYT visual investigations video, they have an amazing story:

    Intercepted unencrypted Russian comms, which show potential Russian war crimes, Ukrainians jamming/ disrupting them, & logistical problems plaguing the Russian advancehttps://t.co/u9nGCZ1COn
    — Tim Mak (@timkmak) March 25, 2022

  73. 73.

    New Deal democrat

    Here is something I have thought about that might actually work:

    1. Biden, along with the DOJ, file an extraordinary Writ with the Supreme Court, demanding an immediate ethics investigation and formal Censure of Thomas for not recusing himself in connection with the case that he had to know involved the release of his own wife’s emails; and to request an expedited hearing on the Writ.

    2. The House votes to launch an Impeachment inquiry about Thomas’s conduct, and subpoenas him, his wife, and their cell providers for data related to their participation in events leading up to the January 6 insurrection.

    The goal of these two actions is not to gain a toothless Censure, or an Impeachment trial where no GOPers will vote to acquit. No, the goal is to make Thomas refuse to appear, and to cause the other 8 Justices to squirm extremely uncomfortably. Uncomfortably enough, in fact, to cause Roberts and one or two other GOP Justices to visit Thomas’s chambers and tell him he really needs to resign in order to end the crisis.

  74. 74.

    germy

    @New Deal democrat: …Roberts and one or two other GOP Justices to visit Thomas’s chambers and tell him he really needs to resign in order to end the crisis.

    I don’t see conservatives surrendering power like that.

  75. 75.

    Skepticat

    @Nora: Is there any policy against prosecuting sitting Supreme Court Justices for felonies? I can’t remember ever hearing of any.

    It’s past time for the first.

  76. 76.

    Kay

    @germy:

    “I… AM…. CREDIBLE!”

    Yeah, not how this works. It’s earned. You don’t get to just show up and demand it. They want credibility? How about they stop using a “shadow docket” to void laws they disagree with?

    You can’t draft a state election law in this country right now. No one has any fucking idea what these people will do with it. Last week they voided Section 2 of the VRA without a hearing or arguments. It’s gone. The “Crown Jewel of the Civil Rights Movement” and they pitched it in the trash.

  77. 77.

    JoyceH

    Watching Biden visit troops and hear he’s going to meet with refugees later. SO glad Biden is our president! I have never got over Trump’s ‘consoler in chief’ trip to meet the survivors of the El Paso mass shooting. Later when he talked with the press, the first thing he mentioned and what he totally focused on was how thrilled everyone was to meet him. Seriously, dude?

  78. 78.

    trollhattan

    @catclub: Raising your home is always a good idea if you live on a floodplain or in hurricane alley. That’s just science.

  79. 79.

    Kay

    @germy:

    Ugh. Stinks to high heaven. I read one of the witnesses is really mad. She testified against the Trump crime family at great personal and financial risk and then they just…dropped it.

    They won’t admit it either, which just compounds the offense. Stop telling people you’re doing work you’re not doing. It’s a lie.

  80. 80.

    trollhattan

    @JoyceH: I could totally see Trump traveling to Poland, where they have two million Ukrainian refugees, organizing a photo op and tossing them paper towel rolls. Generic brand, made in Gy-na.

  81. 81.

    WaterGirl

    @The Thin Black Duke: They think women are interchangeable; they apparently thought what we liked about Hillary was her vagina, so it’s no surprise that these cretins would think that one black person is the same as another.

    What kind of person sees people that way????

  82. 82.

    Skepticat

    @MomSense: ​
     
    I saw the headline but didn’t read the article. Now I’m kind of glad I didn’t. I grew up very close to their home in Cape Elizabeth.

  83. 83.

    Winston

    Sen. Richard Blumenthal calls on Clarence Thomas to voluntarily appear before January 6 Committee to resolve questions around his wife’s text messages.

  85. 85.

    WaterGirl

    @Old School: I think it’s definitely possible.  Depends on who is pulling Manchin’s strings.  And Sinema’s.

    It sure seems to me like the people pulling the strings care not for the Democratic party or what is good for democracy, or for the planet for that matter.

    So yeah, I think votes could still change.  It’s one thing to add a black woman (the horror!) if it doesn’t change the balance of the court.  But if it looks like there’s even a chance that Thomas doesn’t survive this, then yeah, I sure as hell think the string pullers would pull every string they had.

  87. 87.

    lowtechcyclist

    @zhena gogolia:

    Whenever anybody gives me crap about what an honorable man GHWB was, I say, “He replaced Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas.”

    And he pardoned the entire Iran-Contra crew on his way out the door.  Plenty of reasons to piss on 41’s grave.

  89. 89.

    Kay

    SALT LAKE CITY — U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas said he’s concerned efforts to politicize the court or add additional justices may erode the institution’s credibility, speaking Friday in Utah at an event hosted by former Republican U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch’s foundation.

    The speech was mostly about “cancel culture”, which at this point tells you all you need to know. The “anti cancel culture” ranks now include Putin. The more you think “cancel culture” is a huge problem the worse you are.

  90. 90.

    New Deal democrat

    @oldgold:

    I wrote an epistle on Federalist #78 here:
    http://bonddad.blogspot.com/2020/10/an-examination-of-framers-arguments-as.html

    The conclusion: Hamilton believed that:
    “In summary, lawyers selected for their lifetime of skill and acumen in understanding past precedents would essentially engage in statutory interpretation according to the long-established rules for such interpretation. Any errors they made would be no more than an “inconvenience” that would never “affect the order of the political system.” In any event, they would be powerless to enforce their decisions, and would have to rely on the Executive. Further, their errors they made could be remedied by Constitutional Amendments. Finally, if they did attempt to act like superlegislators, they would suffer impeachment and removal from office.

    “… although Hamilton *says* that the argument that the court would act like a superlegislature is unfounded, he never actually *engages* with the argument, but simply states that the Constitution does not “directly” authorize such a result, and that if the argument is correct, it militates against an independent Court altogether; and  concludes that the processes of Constitutional Amendment and Impeachment are sufficient bulwarks in any event.”

  92. 92.

    Captain C

    @zhena gogolia:

    Whenever anybody gives me crap about what an honorable man GHWB was, I say, “He replaced Thurgood Marshall with Clarence Thomas.”

    Agreed, but it’s also a sad fact that HW has been the most honorable elected President, by some distance, since Eisenhower (leaving Ford out as he’s basically a huge asterisk who never got elected to anything higher than the House).

    This says more about the sad and declining state of the GQP than about HW, who was also a pretty good cover-up artist (cf. the CIA scandals of the ’70s, the Iran-Contra pardons, &c.).

  95. 95.

    Kay

    I admit I do get kind of a kick out of imagining Ginni Thomas ranting Q theories at Clarence 24/7.

    She’s a full blown Q nutter. Have you met one of those people? Nightmare.

    I had one come up to my (quiet) son at a Barry’s Bagels when I left the table for one minute to get a coffee refill. I know she was waiting to get him alone, probably recognizing he would sit there and pretend to listen to her, forever. I stood close to her and said “what’s up?” in an unfriendly way and she scurried away.

  96. 96.

    Scout211

    The Supremes temporarily blocked the lower court order requiring the Navy to deploy unvaccinated Navy Seals.

    ETA:  Baud got there first.  Note to self, read whole thread first  ?

    CNN — 
    The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to temporarily freeze a lower-court opinion requiring the Navy to deploy special operations forces even though they have refused to get vaccinated for Covid-19.
    The court’s order means that while special operations forces – including more than two dozen Navy SEALs – continue to challenge the Navy’s vaccine mandate on religious grounds in court, they will not be actively deployed or punished for their position.
    Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch dissented.

  99. 99.

    lowtechcyclist

    @New Deal democrat:

    Here is something I have thought about that might actually work:

    1. Biden, along with the DOJ, file an extraordinary Writ with the Supreme Court, demanding an immediate ethics investigation and formal Censure of Thomas for not recusing himself in connection with the case that he had to know involved the release of his own wife’s emails; and to request an expedited hearing on the Writ.

    An ‘extraordinary Writ’?  Could use a linky to ascertain that this is a thing one can file with the Supreme Court that wouldn’t be totally bogus. Gotta admit it’s giving me ‘Marshall of the Supreme Court’ flashbacks.

  100. 100.

    Baud

    While we’re correctly setting the history straight on George H.W. Bush, let’s not forget that the other worst justice (based on ideology) was not appointed by Trump but by George W. Bush.

  102. 102.

    Baud

    To be honest, I’m glad the Supreme Court is losing credibility in the lead up to overturning abortion rights.

  104. 104.

    germy

    @Kay:

    The sort of man who would lie so blatantly and publicly about his own family…  I don’t see him suddenly developing any sense of shame or enough character to recuse or resign.  He doesn’t care about our ethics.  He’s despicable.

  106. 106.

    Kay

    ‘Weird Alex’ Pareene
    @pareene
    ·23h
    think you could figure out what type of person Ginni Thomas was after the Anita Hill voicemail and if you knew anyone in your life like that you knew she was fully and completely off the deep end by now

    We’ve known for a while, haven’t we? Really? It wasn’t getting better after that, that’s for sure!

  107. 107.

    trollhattan

    It worked so well all those other dozens of times. “Hey, let’s get the old band back together and Benghazi up the joint!” And to think we were (briefly) finished with Darrell.

    March 25, 2022 at 4:36 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard

    “Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) is spearheading an effort to investigate 2020 censorship and suppression of news coverage about the contents of Hunter Biden’s laptop, previewing the kind of oversight House Republicans plan to engage in if they win back the House,” The Hill reports.

  108. 108.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Captain C: it’s also a sad fact that HW has been the most honorable elected President, by some distance, since Eisenhower

    Did you by any chance mean to type ‘Republican’ in between ‘elected’ and ‘President’?

    Because by any definition I’d apply, every Democratic President since Ike has been more honorable than Bush the Elder. Even LBJ.

  109. 109.

    Captain C

    @lowtechcyclist: Yes, I did.  EVERY Democrat since at least Wilson has been much more honorable than the sad crop of GQP Presidents since Eisenhower (and really, most of the ones before him other than Lincoln and maybe, maybe Teddy Roosevelt).

  110. 110.

    catclub

    @Captain C: Agreed, but it’s also a sad fact that HW has been the most honorable elected President, by some distance, since Eisenhower

     

    I think you left out ‘GOP President’. Jimmy carter and Barack  Obama would like a word.

     

    On another note, people are complicated. GWBush was at least 99% partisan hack who appointed Alito, but he also told Dick Cheney to fuck off on bombing Iran when it could have happened.

  111. 111.

    lowtechcyclist

    @Captain C: At first I was going ‘WTF?!’ but the more I looked at what you’d written, I figured you’d just left out that key word by accident.  Happens to all of us.

  112. 112.

    Kay

    Anthony DeRosa
    @Anthony
    ·1h
    Are elements of ‘Build Back Better’ alive? Sen. Joe Manchin has indicated interest in a narrower package focused on clean-energy, drug costs and taxes

    These people want to believe Joe Manchin so they keep inserting that his plan is “centered on raising taxes” when it fact is not “centered” on doing that at all. He has them under some kind of wacky mind control.
    Yesterday they said he planned to “raise taxes on the rich” which is not to be found anywhere in what he actually said. But still, they believe!

  114. 114.

    Captain C

    @catclub:

    I think you left out ‘GOP President’. Jimmy carter and Barack  Obama would like a word.

    Yes I did.  Clinton, for all his flaws, was also much more honorable.

  115. 115.

    Scout211

    @Baud:

    Is that case at the SCOTUS level yet on appeal?

    If the ruling is similar, it could mean that the destroyer could leave without the 35 sailors who refuse the vaccination and they would not be punished.

    But then again,  IANAL.

  117. 117.

    lowtechcyclist

    @trollhattan: As a party, the GQP has gone completely and totally off the deep end. But the media still treats them as if they were more or less normal and sane.

    Like this ‘tough’ and ‘heated’ questioning of KBJ, as the papers reported it, though more accurate words would have been ‘nutso’ and ‘loony tunes’ and ‘Q conspiracy theory shit.’  Why does the MSM insist on putting a gloss of normality on Republican insanity?

  120. 120.

    Shalimar

    What I would like to see is Congress pass ethics rules for the Supreme Court modeled on the federal rules that already exist for the lower courts.  I suspect McConnell and McCarthy will oppose them, in which case this election should be turned into a referendum on which party supports ethics.

  121. 121.

    Captain C

    @Baud: I would be willing to accept Taft on the short list of reasonably honorable GQP Presidents.

    ETA: I might even include Hoover, but it must be acknowledged that unlike his pre-Presidential career, as President he was really butt.

  122. 122.

    David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch

    Big nite on TCM:

    The Candidate

    Fiddler on the Roof

    All that Jazz

    Woodstock (Director’s Cut)

    Plus Women’s NCAA – Stanford vs Maryland on ESPN

  123. 123.

    zhena gogolia

    @Captain C:

    Agreed, but it’s also a sad fact that HW has been the most honorable elected President, by some distance, since Eisenhower

    Friendly edit — “most honorable elected REPUBLICAN President,” I think you mean.

    ETA: Oops, read the thread first.

  125. 125.

    lowtechcyclist

    Here’s hoping that they really do this:

    Pres Macron just announced that France, together with Turkey and Greece, is planning an “exceptional humanitarian operation” to evacuate civilians from #Mariupol. Paris has been in contact with Mariupol’s mayor and the French President will discuss this issue with Putin “in the coming hours”.

    It gives the source as Macron’s press conference after the European Council.
    ETA: The original tweet had national flags in lieu of the names of the countries, which didn’t work in here.​

  129. 129.

    laura

    Oh, while you live, speak the truth and shame the devil. I dont see any reason to not call for Justice Thomas’ resignation, and really, isnt it incumbant upon us as citizens to use our individual and collective voices in all our daily comings and goings? Let there be no peace and if ever there was a couple who earned their public shaming and shunning from all decent people. I’m ready, willing and already calling out this shite-baggery. Let’s do this!

  130. 130.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Benw: Hell, I was in the audience at a legal conference when Sandra Day O’Connor, the guest speaker, stated outright that she ruled for the Shrub coup because she wanted to retire to take care of her ailing husband but didn’t want her replacement to be nominated by a Democrat. And THAT, ladies and gentleman, is why we ended up with 9-11 and two nearly-forever wars of choice.

    Fuck her. At 91, I hope her mind is as sharp as ever so that she’s miserable now in her lonely old age, completely aware of the horrors that she helped unleash on the world. I hope every day she walks the empty house, full of regret and misery. I hope people mail her photos of the torn bodies of babies that her horrid selfishness resulted in after she helped install the worst or second worst human being to ever sit at the Resolute desk.

  132. 132.

    CaseyL

    Well.  I can try calling my House Rep, who is Jayapal, and probably would support the idea.

  134. 134.

    JoyceH

    OT but I just saw a clip of Tucker Carlson and finally identified why his voice is so grating – he sounds like he’s got a mouth full of mucus. Want to say, “guy, cut to a commercial, clear your throat and spit” — but he always sounds that way.

  137. 137.

    Chief Oshkosh

    @Chief Oshkosh: ACTL, La Quinta, CA. Can’t recall the year. It was in the informal Q&A after her formal presentation

     

    ETA: You know, I never considered that it could’ve been a joke. The group I hung with at the at meeting sure didn’t think it was funny. But then, we were a bunch of libs, and libs don’t have a sense of humor, I’m reliably informed.

  139. 139.

    Another Scott

    @Calouste: He’s been that way for decades. Ballotpedia.org says that Thomas has had 30 dissenting opinions (as of the 2020 term) when the vote was 8:1 and he was the 1.

    Fight for 15!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  140. 140.

    Another Scott

    @Kay: I agree with your anger and disgust.

    But isn’t a huge problem with these white-collar prosecutions the fact that the state needs to prove the “state of mind” of the offender?  Like proof requires that they tell a cop on video that “yes, I intended to steal all this money and yes I knew it was against the law” otherwise it’s all a simple misunderstanding that cannot be prosecuted?  Maybe the bad actor will sign a consent decree and pay a fine, or something.

    Isn’t that a probable reason why the NY people dropped the case against TFG?

    Don’t we need better laws for white-collar crime?  Like “you signed the tax return, you’re responsible”; “you claimed the asset was worth more than it was, you’re responsible”; “you financially benefitted from the lies, you’re responsible”; etc.

    Last I looked, speed cameras don’t worry about my state of mind if they catch me…  :-/

    To be clear – I don’t know.  I’m wondering based on what little I think I’ve heard…

    Thanks.

    Grr…,
    Scott.

  145. 145.

    apocalipstick

    @Martin: And why would Senate Republicans do either? You admit that Thomas cannot be removed (not will not, because removal requires 2/3 vote), so where’s the leverage?

  146. 146.

    jonas

    The issue here, as people have been pointing out, is not just that his wife is a bugnuts fucking insane right-wing activist and 1/6 True Believer, but that he was the *lone vote on the court to block the investigation of who instigated the insurrection*. That is the fucking red line. And Thomas is 20 miles over it and accelerating.

    Descend, descend and be damned for all eternity!!

  147. 147.

    jonas

    @apocalipstick: ​
      There is none. There is no chance Thomas is removed via impeachment. Republicans have no shame, honor, or integrity. All we can do is document the atrocities for posterity and hope they learn something from it.

  149. 149.

    jonas

    @Chief Oshkosh: ​
      Hey, you know its *terribly* impolitic to point out that SCOTUS is stacked with conservative hacks. John Roberts would get the vapors and then wouldn’t you feel just terrible!!

  155. 155.

    Villago Delenda Est

    I agree with you, Betty.  Resign, not recuse.  Then we proceed to expand the court to nullify the current Federalist Society/Opus Dei majority, and strike a blow for actual justice.

  156. 156.

    Le Comte de Monte Cristo, fka Edmund Dantes

    As a lowly Family Court judicial candidate, I’ve had to reveal the scope of my wife’s investments for “potential conflicts”.

  158. 158.

    Spinoza Is My Co-pilot

    @oldgold: Alexander Hamilton was, as it’s turned out, dead wrong about this. The Supremes well know that and act accordingly.

  163. 163.

    Grum Grumby

    @Another Scott: I was always under the impression that “ignorance of the law was not an excuse to break it”.  It does seem like there is some kind of weird hard distinction where they seem to feel like there is some burden to show intent with some crimes that isnt present in other crimes.  Is this a “norm” or statutory???  Has it always been like this???

  164. 164.

    Diesel Kitty

    Thomas has always been corrupt.  He cast the deciding vote on Bush vs. Gore knowing that his wife’s new, prestigious job on the Bush transition team depended on the outcome.  No Bush presidency, no transition team.

Comments are closed.