Federal law requires Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from cases in which their “impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” Unlike other judges, however, Supreme Court justices decide themselves whether their impartiality is up for questioning.
This “just trust me” approach poses obvious ethical problems. Look no further than Associate Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas.
Ginni has a long history of far-right activism. She has not only called to overturn President Joe Biden’s election but she also claimed that the United States is under existential threat from “transsexual fascists” and the “deep state.”
