#recusal

I hope his lawyer makes the best of this.

I'm not a lawyer, but shouldn't a lot of the supposed evidence be considered fruit of a poison tree and/or inadmissible?

“Days like today are the whole reason right-wing billionaires have spent years, and billions of dollars, rigging the Supreme Court.”

The linked article from the tweet goes in depth exploring Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, and the constitutionality of whether or not it is appropriate to use the Insurrection Clause against Trump. But that analysis completely misses the point: Ginni Thomas was (and still is) herself an integral part of the January 6th Insurrection, and as such, Clarence Thomas should not be allowed to rule on the case. In a just world, Clarence Thomas would recuse himself, or there would be some mechanism to force his recusal.

At any rate, prepare to be disappointed. I listened to the arguments live, and it sure sounds like even the “liberal” justices were in agreement with the conservatives appointed by Trump; that Colorado overstepped its authority — I vehemently disagree with that. In light of Trump’s words + actions leading up to the Insurrection, Colorado absolutely made the right call. Republicans always like to whine about “states rights” until they don’t like what the state wants to do, like protecting a person’s right to choose abortion.

That all said, begrudgingly, I dO understand the “why” behind what I think their decision will be: imagine an America where the so-called “former” Confederate States of the south were routinely removing the Democratic candidates from their state ballots. Not that this Colorado decision will stop them from trying to do so anyway, but that would be total anarchy (and not the good kind).

On the bright side, if Colorado loses this case, as I think they will, there is still enough time left for them to remove Trump from their ballot but this time, proactively use whatever arguments SCOTUS used against them. But admittedly, that’s a long shot.

Sign a letter asking Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from United States v. Trump

Lawyers Defending American Democracy has invited readers of this newsletter to sign onto a letter calling on Justice Thomas to recuse himself from US v. Trump. I have signed the letter.

As our letter sets forth in detail, Justice Thomas’ spouse, Virginia, has an extensive and well-documented involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and obstruct certification of the electoral vote. Efforts to overturn that election are at the heart of criminal charges against the former president.  If the Supreme Court decides that presidential immunity applies to all of the former president’s actions, Virginia Thomas escapes the potential scrutiny that could emerge in a trial against Mr. Trump. Under the Court’s own Code of Conduct, disqualification is warranted where Justices know that they, or their spouse, have an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of a proceeding. The only correct action under the Code is for Justice Thomas to recuse himself on April 25. If he will not, then the Chief Justice should exercise his leadership and intervene.  We are asking you to please join LDAD’s efforts to prevent this from happening by signing our letter to Chief Justice Roberts today. To sign, click on this link: Call on Justice Thomas to Recuse Himself in United States v. Trump. – LDAD

Donald J Trump, Mueller Report - page 290

Are these the words of an innocent man? Or admission of guilt?