Thomas condemns ‘nastiness and lies’ he and wife have faced

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas condemned the “disgusting behavior” and lies he and his wife Gini have faced in recent years.

Mr Thomas has faced intense scrutiny for accepting undisclosed lavish gifts from a billionaire friend, and his wife Ginny has faced criticism for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 general election. There is.

The revelation about the non-disclosure of the gift came to light after a government investigation. propublica A judge found that Republican megadonor Harlan Crowe had gone on a lavish vacation paid for.

“The last couple of years have been full of hate and lies for my wife and me,” Thomas reportedly told attendees at a judicial conference in Alabama on Friday. new york times. “There has certainly been a lot of negativity in my wife’s and our lives over the last few years, but we have chosen not to focus on that.”

Thomas addressed the criticism before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Point Clear, Alabama. convened The 11th Circuit judges in Florida, Georgia, and Alabama asked them to “examine the operations of the courts and discuss ways to improve the administration of justice within their circuits.”

The nation’s highest court adopted a code of ethics in November 2023 after judges came under increased scrutiny over private travel and gifts.

The court’s longest-serving judge spoke on a variety of topics during his hour-long appearance in an interview with former court clerk and current federal judge Kathryn Kimball Mizell.

During the meeting, Thomas also criticized Washington, D.C.

“Especially in Washington, people are proud of how bad they are,” Thomas said, according to the Times. “As far as I’m concerned, this is a scary place. Because in other parts of this country, that’s one of the reasons we like RVs, just because of their ability to do harmful things. Because you can be around normal people who aren’t proud of being toxic.”