Republican Sen. Josh Hawley said Monday it was “misogynistic” to ask Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign over his wife’s voter fraud claims in cases related to Jan. 6 or the 2024 election.
“She’s an independent grown woman, it just strikes me as a bit strange, all these demands for her husband, what, how, to take better care of her? Honestly, I think it’s kind of misogynistic,” the Missouri senator said CNN.
He added: “She is a private person. He’s a US Supreme Court Justice, but I think this idea that he’s kind of automatically responsible for everything he says – what does that mean? Does she have to get his permission?’
A growing number of Democrats have called on the court’s chief justice to resign after his wife’s texts to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were revealed in a Washington Post report. President Biden said Monday he would not interfere; instead, he leaves it to the Justice Department and the January 6 Committee.
“She’s an independent grown woman, it just strikes me as a bit strange, all these demands for her husband, what, how, to take better care of her? Honestly, I think it’s kind of misogynistic,” said GOP Senator Josh Hawley
In a string of 29 messages following the loss of former President Trump, conservative activist Ginni Thomas repeatedly urged then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to campaign for the election results to be overturned. Ginni Thomas confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon last month that she attended Trump’s Save America rally but got cold and went home early.
The 29 messages are reportedly part of the huge tranche of documents Meadows turned over to the House of Representatives investigating the attack on the Capitol.
Ginni Thomas’ correspondence with Meadows included a Nov. 10 text in which she called Joe Biden’s election victory “the greatest heist in our history.”
Both the panel’s chair, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), believe the panel should interview them, CNN reported.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., a member of the Judiciary Committee, joined Sunday in calls for Judge Thomas to back down from matters related to the 2024 election or the Trump documents fight after he failed to do so to withdraw from the recent verdict.
“Here the facts are clear. That’s incredible. You have the wife of an incumbent Supreme Court Justice who is campaigning for an insurrection, campaigning to overturn a legal election for the incumbent President’s chief of staff, and she also knows that those elections, those cases, will come before her husband.” said Klobuchar.
She told ABC’s This Week, “This is a textbook case to remove him and keep him from making those decisions.”
Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have issued similar appeals.
Sen. Corey Booker also called for Justice Thomas to be disqualified on Sunday. He noted that Judge Elena Kagan has resigned on several occasions, “not necessarily because she was conflicted, but because she understood that even the appearance of impropriety would delegitimize the court.”
The Supreme Court “needs that legitimacy in this nation,” Booker said. “So clear, Judge Thomas should have resigned. That is not at issue here.’
Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy both defended Thomas’ ability to remain impartial last week, as did Sen. Rick Scott on Fox News Sunday.
Senator John Cornyn said Monday he doesn’t think Thomas should retire and that it was “ridiculous” to go after his family members.
“We should keep family members out of all this. It’s ridiculous to attack members of a family of public figures,” the Texas Republican said.
“I just think that accumulating family members of public figures is just an unfortunate development.”
“Mark (don’t want to wake you up)… Sounds like Sidney and her team are being inundated with evidence of cheating. make a plan Release the Kraken and save us from the left that is bringing down America,” read a message Thomas allegedly sent to Meadows Nov. 19.
Thomas sits with his wife and conservative activist Virginia Thomas (center) and GOP Senate Chairman Mitch McConnell (right) as he waits to address the Heritage Foundation in October 2021
Virginia Thomas – the wife of now Associate Justice of the United States Clarence Thomas – stands behind Thomas during a press conference following his confirmation in 1991
Ginni, wife of Judge Clarence Thomas, has been active in conservative circles for decades
“Release the Kraken” is a phrase popularized by Powell, referring to the alleged fraud exposure in the 2020 presidential election. It is commonly used by the far right fringe of Trump supporters.
The lyrics suggest that Thomas even helped craft Powell’s message — and that she carried that message to more members of the Trump White House than just Meadows.
“I have just forwarded an email to yr gmail that I sent to Jared this morning. Sidney Powell and improved coordination will now help the cavalry uncover fraud and save America,” Thomas reportedly wrote to Meadows Nov. 13.
“Jared” could potentially be a reference to Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser in his administration.
Virginia “Ginni” Thomas repeated QAnon conspiracy theories and ripped at GOP lawmakers who didn’t support Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election in at least 29 text messages to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, a new report reveals
Powell had been one of the first front-line lawyers to promote Trump’s vote-fraud theories. However, her wild claims and insistence on repeating them made her a polarizing figure, prompting even ex-Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to distance himself.
She also raged at former Vice President Mike Pence, who Trump urged to refuse to count state-certified votes.
“Most of us are disgusted with the VP and listen to see where we have to struggle with our teams. Those who attacked the Capitol are not representative of our amazing patriot teams for DJT!!’ She wrote Meadows after the election.