Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as the “greatest living justice” in a brief statement Tuesday amid ethical concerns over his wife’s support of overturning the 2020 presidential election.
“The only thing I will say: Clarence Thomas, greatest living justice and one of the greatest public servants in America,” DeSantis said at the conclusion of a press conference at the Florida Capitol.
The compliments from the Republican governor come as the most senior Supreme Court justice’s wife, Ginni Thomas, has recently been the subject of ethical scrutiny by primarily Democratic lawmakers over text messages she sent in November 2020 to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. In her messages, Ginni Thomas expressed support for former President Donald Trump’s legal team to uncover election fraud and lawyer Sidney Powell‘s bid to challenge the 2020 election results.
JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS SHOULD RESIGN OR FACE IMPEACHMENT, AOC SAYS
Ron Desantis is asked about the Clarence/Ginni Thomas controversy: “The only thing I would say is, Clarence Thomas – greatest living Justice and one of the greatest public servants in America.” pic.twitter.com/DnuZfXbypN
— Ron Filipkowski ?? (@RonFilipkowski) March 29, 2022
The government watchdog group American Oversight obtained emails in February dating back to June 2021, showing that the justice’s wife emailed DeSantis and that her “husband has been in contact with him too on various things of late,” implying the governor and justice have an established relationship.
DeSantis’s comments mirror similar support expressed by GOP Sen. Rick Scott, the former governor of Florida, who dismissed calls by Democrats for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from future cases related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“Well, first off, I admire and respect Clarence Thomas. I think he’s been a great Supreme Court justice. And Clarence Thomas in my opinion will always do the right thing,” Scott said on Fox News Sunday.
But despite the buffer support provided by GOP officials amid calls for Clarence Thomas to recuse for specific cases, and even impeachment calls by liberal Democrats Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the notion of impeaching the justice has largely been shot down by members of Congress.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told lawmakers that it’s “up to an individual justice to decide to recuse himself if his wife is participating in a coup” during a House Democrat Caucus meeting Tuesday morning, Punchbowl News reported.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker told the Washington Examiner they “don’t think” the push for impeachment has any teeth to it.
