Trump's lawyers wanted Clarence Thomas to review their 2020 election lies, saying he was their 'only chance' of stopping Biden's victory (msn.com)
Trump's lawyers wanted Clarence Thomas to review their 2020 election lies, saying he was their 'only chance' of stopping Biden's victory
Story by
ssheth@businessinsider.com (Sonam Sheth) •6h
US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas poses for the official photo. OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images© OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images
- Trump's lawyers wanted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to help them stop Biden's 2020 election.
- One Trump lawyer wrote that "our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion" that "might hold up the Georgia count in Congress, is from Thomas."
- "I think I agree with this," another Trump-aligned lawyer responded.
Donald Trump's lawyers — who were identified as co-conspirators in Trump's latest federal indictment — wanted Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to help them stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.
That's according to emails previously obtained by the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, as well as an internal campaign memo that
The New York Times reported on this week.
"The point is to have the court say that probably the election was void, which should be enough to prevent the Senate from counting the Biden electoral votes from Georgia, right?" one Trump lawyer, Kenneth Chesebro, wrote in a December 31, 2020 email to other attorneys working on Trump's behalf to nullify Biden's victory.
Read the original article on
Business Insider
" source="msn" class="image-DS-unknown2-1 image-DS-unknown2-2" src="
https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1aN0Hx.img?w=800&h=415&q=60&m=2&f=jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; height: auto; max-height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 207.5px; left: 384px; transform: translate(-50%, -50%); vertical-align: middle; object-fit: contain;">
Full screen
1 of 6 Photos in Gallery©AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Secret billionaire benefactors, mysterious debt, undisclosed real estate deals, millions in headhunting fees, and more: All of the ethics questions hanging over the Supreme Court
- Justice Clarence Thomas is at the center of a scandal involving a billionaire subsidizing his lifestyle.
- Chief Justice John Roberts' wife has made millions as a legal recruiter from firms who argue at the court.
- Land deals, mysterious debts, book deals, it's an ethical minefield at the court right now.
Americans
already had a dismal view of the Supreme Court. Now, the nation's highest court is confronting an ethics debacle that has thrusted the already bruised institution further into the headlines.
Justice Clarence Thomas has been the subject of multiple bombshell reports about his close relationship with a Texas billionaire who has financed lavish trips, purchased his mother's home, and help support members of his family. Before these stories broke, Thomas was already staring down concerns about wife, Virginia "Ginni", and her conservative advocacy.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who has cast himself as a defender of the court's image, hasn't been immune either. Roberts' wife, Jane, made millions in commissions placing lawyers at the high-priced firms that often argue before the court.
Roberts and other justices have bristled over the possible impositions of a formal ethics code on the court. Other federal judges have a formal ethics code, but the high court prefers to police itself.
Absent impeachment there is little punishment that any lawmaker or American can seek to impose on a justice who like all other judges can serve for life.
Georgia was one of seven battleground states that Biden won in the 2020 election.
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/new...rturn-2020-election/vi-AA1eLuT0?ocid=msedgdhp
Chesebro went on to say that "possibly Thomas would end up being the key here — circuit justice, right? We want to frame things so that Thomas could be the one to issue some sort of stay or other circuit justice opinion saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt."
Thomas is the circuit justice for Georgia, Alabama, and Florida, meaning he oversees emergency requests coming from those states.
"Realistically, our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6, which might hold up the Georgia count in Congress, is from Thomas — do you agree, Prof. Eastman?" Chesebro wrote in the email.
He was referring to the conservative lawyer John Eastman, who was one of the recipients of the email.
"I think I agree with this," Eastman replied. "If the court were to give us 'likely,' that may be enough to kick the Georgia Legislature into gear, because I've been getting a lot of calls from them indicating to me they're leaning that way."
Both Chesebro and Eastman were referenced as unnamed co-conspirators in the special counsel Jack Smith's latest indictment against Trump. The former president was charged with four counts of conspiracy and obstruction earlier this month in connection to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Chesebro and Eastman haven't been criminally charged.