Dem senator seeks Thomas' recusal from key Jan. 6 case at SCOTUS

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) wants Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from considering the case of United States v. Trump, citing the efforts of Thomas' wife Virginia to challenge the 2020 election.

Blumenthal sent a letter Wednesday urging Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to “take appropriate steps to ensure that Justice Clarence Thomas recuses himself” from the case, which is centered on Trump’s role in the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021. That case is on a fast track for consideration by the highest court and could significantly affect Special Counsel Jack Smith's handling of the charges his office has filed against former President Donald Trump.

Blumenthal cites Thomas’ previous recusal from the case Eastman v. Thompson back in October, due to Virginia Thomas’ correspondence with John Eastman about overturning the results of the 2020 presidential election. Thomas had not recused himself from previous Jan. 6-related cases, but did in the Eastman case.

“The same is true in United States v. Trump. Mrs. Thomas’s close interactions with senior Trump administration officials about overturning the 2020 election results — the very subject of the litigation — certainly creates circumstances where Justice Thomas’s ‘impartiality might reasonably be questioned,’” Blumenthal wrote.