Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has temporarily suspended a subpoena from a Georgia court desiring testimony from South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Thomas offered the temporary block following Graham’s emergency request on Friday.
Another day, another conflict of interest for Justice Thomas revealed. Add this to the laundry list of impeachable offenses he has committed. He has no business being on the Supreme Court, and no shame.https://t.co/sHjpFRh3v2
— Jan Schakowsky (@janschakowsky) October 24, 2022
The ruling
“He is one of several Republicans accused of pressing Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to reverse Trump’s 2020 election loss in the state. He has argued that his post-election efforts in Georgia count as legislative activity and that they are protected from these types of investigations,” Axios reported.
“The three-judge panel on the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and a lower district court judge said a narrowed scope of questioning by the jury wouldn’t violate his rights as a sitting senator,” the report added.
This is a grave miscarriage of Justice!
Clarence Thomas has a direct conflict of interest in this case, as his wife may be directly implicated.
He should be recused, NOT deciding on it. https://t.co/mlYwyFVXdc
— Joel Rubin (@JoelMartinRubin) October 24, 2022
Graham’s perspective
“The district court’s and District Attorney’s apparent suspicions about motives are baseless, but even assuming otherwise, the Speech or Debate Clause was designed to prevent exactly this sort of examination,” Graham wrote, according to CNN.
He also argued that a lower court was “wrong, also, to think that any other lines of hypothetical questioning would be permissible.”
BREAKING: Justice Thomas issues interim order shielding Lindsey Graham from grand jury questioning while Scotus considers whether to block for longer term. pic.twitter.com/xz4U861bhO
— Greg Stohr (@GregStohr) October 24, 2022
The new ruling may only be temporary, but will most likely delay any move ahead of the midterm election next month.
Opponents see it as a political move, blaming Thomas for a partisan ruling, though his decision fit within the parameters of the case.
The controversy will certainly continue as Democrats blame the GOP over any losses the party suffers in the upcoming election.