Following months of pressure from the left, Clarence Thomas recused himself from a Supreme Court case dealing with January 6th.

The court gave no explanation of its decision to reject the appeal of John Eastman, a lawyer and constitutional scholar who advised President Trump in his efforts to challenge the 2020 election.

Thomas recuses himself

Arguably the court's arch conservative, Clarence Thomas has been the target of a continuous witch hunt from the left, itself part of a broader crusade to discredit the court and its conservative majority.

As part of that effort, the left has sought to tie Thomas to the Capitol "insurrection" through his wife Ginni Thomas and her involvement in the "Stop the Steal" movement.

The left has also spent months stoking outrage over Thomas' friendship with a Republican donor to paint Thomas as corrupt, while demanding his impeachment or recusal from certain cases, including January 6th disputes.

Trump lawyer loses appeal

Eastman is a former law clerk for Justice Thomas who has been widely painted as the legal mastermind of an attempted "coup" by Trump.

However, Congress amended the law only last year to clarify that Eastman's interpretation of the Electoral Count Act was wrong or somehow unlawful. Eastman had advised Trump that former vice president Mike Pence had the power to challenge the 2020 election results, rather than rubber stamp them.

In a dispute between Eastman and the January 6th committee, a federal district judge in California ruled that some of Eastman's e-mails were not covered by attorney-client privilege - a bedrock principle of the legal system - because he and Trump "more likely than not" broke the law somehow.

Although the case is now moot, Eastman argued he had no role in the case's mootness, because the e-mails were publicized by lawyers for the January 6th committee - by mistake, the committee claims.

Left unleashes lawfare

Eastman said the January 6th committee, by leaking his emails, deprived him of his right to appeal and clear the "stigma" attached to him and President Trump. He wanted the Supreme Court to intervene, but it looks like that won't happen.

Eastman is facing disbarment in California and criminal charges in Georgia for the novel "crime" of giving legal advice to his client, who is accused of forming an "organized criminal enterprise" with Eastman and others to "overturn" the election.

The witch hunt against Eastman is part of a broader, unprecedented lawfare campaign targeting Trump and his allies.

Notably, President Trump has not been charged with sedition or "insurrection" in any of the four criminal indictments he faces, despite years of media hyperbole about January 6th.

Eastman, like Trump, has maintained that the election was stolen.