Thomas should recuse himself from election cases, Klobuchar says

Sen. Amy Klobuchar called on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from any 2020 election cases the court might hear after news of his wife’s texts came to light.

It was revealed last week that his wife Ginni discussed ways to overturn the 2020 election with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows over text. She sent Meadows far-right conspiracy theory videos, promoted false election fraud claims and even expressed her distaste for former Vice President Mike Pence following Jan. 6

Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said on Sunday the matter is “a textbook case for removing him, recusing him from these decisions.”

She also pointed out that Thomas has recused himself from a case before, back in 1995 when it pertained to a school his son attended.

“The entire integrity of the court is on the line here,” she said on ABC’s “This Week,” while noting: "all I hear is silence from the Supreme Court right now."

Klobuchar added: “They had better speak out on this because you cannot have a justice hearing cases related to this election and, in fact, the ethics rules that apply to all the other federal judges say that if it involves a family member, appearance of impartiality, they have to recuse themselves.”

On Friday, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden made a similar argument. "At the bare minimum, Justice Thomas needs to recuse himself from any case related to the January 6th investigation, and should Donald Trump run again, any case related to the 2024 election.”

On the other side of the aisle, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) expressed more certainty about Thomas’ judgment on the matter.

“First off, I admire and respect Clarence Thomas,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I think he’s been a great Supreme Court justice. And Clarence Thomas, in my opinion, will always do the right thing.”