U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is facing calls to recuse himself from a case brought by former President Donald Trump amid an investigation of his handling of White House documents.
Trump is appealing a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit that allowed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to continue using classified documents seized from the former president's Mar-a-Lago residence as part of its investigation.
The three-judge panel's decision "stayed" an order by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon that had allowed the special master in the case to review classified documents and temporarily prevented the DOJ from reviewing the seized material.
Many social-media users expressed concern about Justice Thomas' potential involvement in the case, and some called for him to recuse himself from the matter.
Thomas handles emergency appeals for the 11th Circuit, so the application was submitted to him, but no decision will be made before the DOJ has filed a reply, which is due by next Tuesday.
"Retweet this if you believe that Clarence Thomas should have recused himself from acting on the Trump case," tweeted NBC News presidential historian Michael Beschloss.
Lawyer Tristan Snell tweeted that "The Justice covering the 11th is... Clarence Thomas. So Thomas will hear a case that potentially implicates the January 6 insurrection plot that his wife may have participated in."
Snell was referring to Thomas' wife, lawyer and conservative activist Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, who testified on September 29 before the House of Representatives' Select Committee investigating January 6, 2021.
Thomas told the committee that she still believes the 2020 presidential election was stolen, according to the committee's chairman, Representative Bennie Thompson.
Ben Meiselas, lawyer and co-founder of political action committee MeidasTouch, tweeted: "The fact that an actual Supreme Court Justice (Clarence Thomas) would even consider this Trump nonsense Application to Vacate the 11th Circuit's Stay and demand a response from the DOJ is yet another scar on this Supreme Court, regardless of what the outcome ultimately is."
Glenn Kirschner, legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, tweeted that Trump "asks Supreme Court/Clarence Thomas to help him out. When will the Department of Justice act? Because #JusticeMatters."
"Clarence Thomas has recused himself from credibility," tweeted comedian and actor John Fugelsang.
Author Don Winslow wrote on Twitter that he doubted "Clarence Thomas will ever recuse himself from a Trump case because it would only serve to confirm the rightful allegations against him *AND* would prevent him in the months or years ahead of future cases where Trump may *REALLY* need him."
Navy veteran Bruno Amato tweeted: "Who polices the Supreme Court? Clarence Thomas shouldn't have the 'choice' of recusing himself. That's where the problem lies."
Some Democrats have called on Thomas to recuse himself from cases involving the Capitol riot after text messages showed his wife urging former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
In January, Justice Thomas was the lone dissenting vote when the Supreme Court's majority ruled against Trump's bid to block the release of some presidential records sought by the house committee investigating January 6.
Newsweek has asked the DOJ and Trump's office for comment.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more
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