Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland is calling on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from the case of former United States President Donald Trump's ballot disqualification.
The Democratic lawmaker said that his reason for this is because Thomas' wife, Ginni Thomas, was involved in "the big lie." Raskin also spoke about the controversial issue on Sunday during an interview.
Raskin Asks Thomas To Recuse Himself
The Supreme Court justice's wife sent dozens of text messages following the 2020 election that were addressed to former chief of staff Mark Meadows. She urged him to fight the results, where the former president lost the race to Joe Biden.
In late September 2022, Ginni told a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot that she regretted those texts. She argued that the messages were sent at an "emotional time" and would take them back if she could.
Raskin was previously a House committee member responsible for investigating what led to the Capitol siege. He also suggested that Thomas could not objectively evaluate whether or not Trump should be disqualified from the 2024 ballot, as per USA Today.
In a statement, the Democratic Maryland lawmaker said that having a wife who was involved in the big lie and claiming that Trump won the 2020 election should force them to not participate in the case.
The situation comes as the states of Colorado and Maine have decided to disqualify the former president from the 2024 ballot. Officials have cited the 14th Amendment, which says Trump is barred from holding office because he engaged in an insurrection.
The former president is expected to appeal the two states' decisions to remove his name from their 2024 ballots. Similar efforts are underway in other areas, including Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Texas.
Donald Trump's Ballot Disqualification Case
Following Colorado and Maine's decision, Republican backlash and some criticism from Democrats have been swift and fierce. According to Politico, the heated debate over the controversial issue is expected to come soon to the nation's highest court.
During the interview on Sunday, Raskin noted that the American government has several disqualifications in the Constitution for serving as president. He cited age as an example with a colleague he considers a great young politician. Maxwell Frost, who is 26 years old, cannot run for president due to the minimum requirement being 35.
Following Maine's decision to remove Trump from its 2024 ballot, the area's secretary of state, Shenna Bellows, was "swatted." The term describes calling a SWAT team to a person's location and falsely claiming that a crime has happened or is ongoing in the area.
The incident happened on Friday evening, and Maine State Police responded after an unidentified man lied about having broken into Bellows's home. The secretary of state decided to disqualify the former president from the ballot under the 14th Amendment's section 3 regarding insurrection, said Fox News.
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