Harlan Crow

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Soon To Be Second Longest Serving Court Justice In American History!

Clarence Thomas, the presently longest serving Supreme Court Justice, celebrated his 77th birthday, yesterday, June 23.

Thomas, a highly controversial and divisive Associate Justice, has been on the Court since 1991, after being nominated by President George H. W. Bush to replace Justice Thurgood Marshall.

His nomination was memorable for the challenge by his former aide, Anita Hill, that he had sexually harassed her, and it has been argued that his whole career since has been a rebuke of what he called “liberalism”, which he saw as the “enemy”, wanting to take him down and deny him the Court membership.

He has been accused of improper corruption, including taking major gifts from supporters, such as Harlan Crow, to promote right wing causes, and he has been defiant of any criticism, and is seen as the most right wing member of the Court in the past century by many.

But he ignores criticism and is defiant, and he presently is the 10th longest serving member of the Court’s history at almost 34 years.

But within the next year, he will go from 10th longest serving to second longest serving, only behind Justice William O. Douglas, the famous and controversial liberal justice appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and serving for 36 and a half years until his retirement in 1975.

There are a generation and more of Clarence Thomas law clerks, many of whom have been appointed to the federal courts, over this third of a century he has been influential on the Court.

The odds are that he will stay to break the record of Douglas, and become the longest serving Justice in history, which would be accomplished in June 2028.

Thomas’s historical impact will be the center of constant research and analysis long into the future, and he will continue in life and after eventual death, as possibly the most complex personality and influence on legal history, for good and for bad in modern times, depending on one’s perceptions.

The Massive Corruption Of Clarence Thomas

It is shocking how corrupt and greedy Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is, and has been in the past third of a century since his hearings for the Supreme Court in 1991 revealed sexual harassment of Anita Hill.

Selected to replace the only earlier African American Justice, Thurgood Marshall, by President George H. W. Bush, his appointment and career stand out as possibly the biggest blunder made by the 41st President.

Thomas has gained at least $4 million in “benefits” from conservative activists, most notably Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, and has led the attack on the great advancements of the Chief Justice Earl Warren Court (1953-1969).

By all standards of behavior, Thomas should resign from the Court, and should be impeached, but of course, neither will happen, and his horrendous tenure on the Court as it moves far to the Right, undermines all respect for the Court as an institution.

Thomas, sadly, is on the path to the possibility of serving longer on the Court than anyone, if he stays a member for the next three years. If he does, he will surpass the 36 years of Associate Justice William O. Douglas (1939-1975). At this time, already, Thomas is the 10th longest serving member of the Court in its history.

Thomas’s impact on constitutional law is also the fact that many of his law clerks are now federal district court judges, so his right wing views will carry on beyond his own time on the Court.

And sadly, his wife, Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, was involved in promotion of the January 6 2021 US Capitol Insurrection, as indicated by research into the behind the scenes events of that tragic day.

Clarence Thomas, Harlan Crowe, And Leonard Leo: Massive Ethics Scandal!

Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas has become the most controversial member of the Supreme Court since Associate Justice Abe Fortas resigned from the Court in 1969, due to an ethics scandal, which by comparison to Thomas, was quite minor.

Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, have been taking favors, gifts, and lots of money from billionaires Harlan Crow and Leonard Leo, the latter the head of the right wing Federalist Society, which has been dedicated, and quite successfully, to turn the US Federal Judicial system to the extreme Right.

Thomas has been controversial since he was confirmed in 1991, after charges of sexual harassment by Anita Hill, caused the closest vote of the 20th century in the US Senate.

The Court under Chief Justice John Roberts has been besmirched not only by Thomas, but by controversies surrounding the appointments of all three Trump appointees, and the two Bush appointees of Thomas and Samuel Alito.

Faith and trust in the fairness and balance of the Court has declined rapidly, but there is little that can be done to force Thomas to resign, as that would have the effect of changing the strong right wing extremism of the present Court with a Joe Biden replacement.

The rule of law and faith in the Constitution is under attack, and restored confidence in the Court is not likely anytime soon.

Abe Fortas Resigned In 1969 From Supreme Court, And Clarence Thomas Needs To Do Same In 2023!

In 1969, Associate Justice Abe Fortas, appointed to the Supreme Court in 1965 by his “good friend”, President Lyndon B. Johnson, resigned, due to an ethics scandal, and accusations that he was too partisan and close to his long time friend.

Fortas had been nominated to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren, but members of his own Democratic Party, as well as opposition Republicans, negated that, and under fire, Fortas retired from the Court after less than four years of service.

Now, 54 years later, we have Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, appointed by President George H. W. Bush in 1991 to replace retiring Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall, under fire for much greater ethics violations, with calls for his resignation or impeachment after 32 years on the Supreme Court.

Thomas’s wife, Ginni Thomas, was involved in the promotion of opposition to the counting of the Electoral College votes in the Presidential Election of 2020, and Thomas himself was willing to work to prevent the confirmation of Joe Biden as the winner of the Presidency.

Additionally, Thomas has not reported income and real estate dealings with powerful and wealthy right wing promoters, including Harlan Crow, and clearly, Thomas is the most right wing extremist member of the Court, more so in many respects than former Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.

Thomas has a “chip on his shoulder”, since the investigation of sexual harrassment against Anita Hill complicated his nomination to the Court in 1991, with the vote for his confirmation being the closest in the 20th century by the US Senate.

He made the statement that he would stay on the Court to double his age at the time, 43, to “confound the damn liberals”, so he was already in 1991 ill qualified to sit on the Court with such a biased view of his role!

It is time after nearly 32 years, and 12th longest service on the Court, for Thomas to leave the Court, which he has stained with his corruption from his nomination until today’s controversies!