CREW demands 'immediate investigation' of Clarence and Ginni Thomas for possible 'conflicts of interest'

Ginni Thomas, a far-right Republican activist and the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, has been a consistent promoter of the Big Lie — falsely claiming that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump. And when she recently spoke to the January 6 select committee, Ginni Thomas didn’t back down from that claim even though it has been repeatedly debunked.

The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) voiced its concerns about Ginni Thomas and Justice Thomas in a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, October 24.

CREW President Noah Bookbinder told those committees, “It is critical that those responsible for the attack on the Capitol be held accountable and that the integrity of the Supreme Court not be tainted by conflicts of interest. The Judiciary Committees have responsibility for the oversight of our judiciary and law enforcement agencies, and investigating Ginni Thomas’ conduct and Justice Thomas’ failure to recuse is an essential exercise of that oversight responsibility.”

READ MORE: Ginni Thomas has become a 'one-woman constitutional crisis': columnist

CREW, in an October 24 announcement, noted that Justice Thomas “has recused himself from 54 cases since joining the Supreme Court” in 1991 “in order to avoid the perception of potential conflicts of interest, including 17 cases involving his son.” But according to CREW, Justice Thomas “has never recused because of a potential conflict involving his wife.”

Bookbinder, in the letter, warned, “It is hard to imagine something more damaging to the public trust in the Supreme Court than a Justice ruling on cases that could relate to their spouses’ attempts to overturn American democracy. An immediate investigation is needed.”

The letter was addressed to two Democrats (Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York) and two Republicans (Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio).

Bookbinder told the members of Congress, “Ms. Thomas also contacted state officials in key states to encourage them to set aside the results of statewide elections and thereby alter the results of the presidential election. Soon after the 2020 election, Ginni Thomas e-mailed legislators in Arizona asking them to appoint a so-called ‘clean slate of electors’ rather than those legitimately chosen by the people of Arizona. She also contacted legislators in Wisconsin urging them to appoint their own set of electors rather than those chosen by the people of Wisconsin.”

READ MORE: 'Conflict of interest': Ginni Thomas linked to anti-abortion groups that lobbied to overturn Roe