Democratic Representative Raskin Believes Alito and Thomas Should Be Compelled to Recuse Themselves

Maryland Democrat Rep. Jamie Raskin has urged seven Supreme Court justices, with the backing of President Joe Biden’s Department of Justice, to compel Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas to recuse themselves from cases related to Jan. 6.

Raskin penned an opinion piece for The New York Times, arguing that it is “unbelievable that the two justices could decide on their own impartiality” in certain cases.

Many Democrats, including Raskin, believe Thomas and Alito should step aside from cases connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

The reasoning behind the request for Thomas to recuse himself is his wife Ginni Thomas’ alleged support for former President Donald Trump’s efforts to challenge the outcome of the 2020 election, as stated by Democrats in a previous report.

As for Alito, Democrats argue he should not be involved in similar cases due to flags related to Jan. 6 being seen at his Virginia and New Jersey homes; Alito attributed this to his wife, according to reports from Newsmax.

Raskin, who serves as the ranking member on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, emphasized in his column that the justices could be compelled to recuse themselves from Jan. 6 cases.

“The U.S. Department of Justice … can request the other seven justices to mandate the recusal of Justices Alito and Thomas not as a gesture of goodwill but as a legal requirement,” Raskin wrote.

He further explained that the Justice Department and Attorney General Merrick Garland can cite constitutional provisions and federal statutes mandating judicial disqualification for potential bias.

Raskin also proposed that Chief Justice John Roberts and the other justices should initiate discussions on the recusal of Alito and Thomas independently.

Notably, there was no mention or comparison in Raskin’s column to Judge Juan Merchan, who has faced allegations of partisan biases while overseeing former President Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial.

Among the cases prompting calls for Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves is Trump v. United States, where the court must decide on Trump’s immunity from prosecution in relation to the 2020 election, the Washington Examiner reported.