The wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas pressed Republicans in Arizona to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory there, according to emails published on Friday.
Ginni Thomas repeated President Donald Trump’s false claims that the election was marred by fraud.
‘Please stand strong in the face of political and media pressure,’ she wrote.
‘Please reflect on the awesome authority granted to you by our constitution. And then please take action to ensure that a clean slate of electors is chosen for our state.’
The swing state of Arizona was central to Trump’s claim that he was cheated of victory.
Biden won the state by about 10,000 votes. The decision by Fox News to call the state for Biden infuriated Trump, and he has repeatedly disputed the outcome.
Emails obtained by the Washington Post show Thomas, a conservative activists, messaged a pair of lawmakers on Nov. 9, 2020, urging legislators to intervene,
‘Though she did not mention either candidate by name, the context was clear,’ said the Post.
The messages reveal how Thomas was more deeply involved in the effort to reverse Biden’s win than previously known.
They will reignite concerns about conflicts of interest, following earlier reports that she had texted Mark Meadows, Trump’s White House chief of staff, in the days after the election urging him to do anything he could to keep Biden out of power.
Ethics groups said her stance meant that Justice Thomas should recuse himself from election-related cases.
He was the only Supreme Court judge in January to say that Trump should be allowed not to hand over documents to the House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Those documents included text messages to Meadows.
The latest revelations show that Thomas wrote that Article II of the Constitution gives state lawmakers the power to choose Electoral College electors.
This responsibility is yours and yours alone – it doesn’t rest with any board of elections, secretary or state, governor, or even court,’ she said.
And it certainly doesn’t rest with the media
‘That’s why I am writing today to urge you to do your Constitutional duty.’
She goes on to request meetings with the two lawmakers ‘so I can learn more about what you are doing to ensure our states vote is audited and our certification is clean.’
One of the lawmakers, Shawnna Bolick, deflected the request, saying instead: ‘I hope you and Clarence are doing great!
Thomas reportedly replied: ‘Fun that this came to you! Just part of our campaign to help states feel America’s eyes!!!’
Thomas has insisted that she and her husband have kept their work separate, but her political activism has raised repeated questions.
A decade ago she and Steve Bannon — who went on to become Trump’s chief strategist — were involved in Groundswell, a group formed to take on liberals and establishment Republicans.
Democrats have repeatedly slammed Thomas over his wife’s activism.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recent said: ‘I don’t think he ever should have been appointed,’ before saying she believed Congress should look into a provision of the House-passed H.R. 1 that would create a code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.
‘If your wife is an admitted and proud contributor to a coup of our country, maybe you should weigh that in your ethical standards,’ Pelosi said.