A petition created by a large online religious community calling for conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from Donald Trump's immunity case is gaining traction.
The former president has sought judgment from the court in his election interference and classified documents cases. Immunity claims in the election-related case, brought on by the Department of Justice (DOJ) following Trump's alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his loss to President Joe Biden, face uncertainty after a federal appeals court's three-judge panel rejected the claims on February 6.
Thomas, who joined the court in 1991 and is its most senior member, and his wife, Ginni, have been scrutinized for questionable relationships with influential Republicans in addition to Ginni allegedly helping Trump try to win in 2020.
The relationships include ties to billionaire Republican donor Harlan Crow and conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo, the co-chairman and former executive vice president of the conservative Federalist Society.
"Thomas may have a significant impact on the outcome of this important case despite the facts that he has received unethical payouts from religious-right activists like Leonard Leo and that his wife, Ginni, played a central role in trying to overturn the election," Faithful America said about its petition.
"As Christians called to the holy work of truth and justice, we must come together in this critical moment to demand that Clarence Thomas recuse himself. With Christian nationalism on the rise now more than ever, threatening both American democracy and the church, we have what may be only a matter of days to act. Time is of the essence."
Newsweek reached out to the Supreme Court on Friday for comment.
Reverend Nathan Empsall, executive director of Faithful America, told Newsweek via email on Friday that allowing Thomas to rule on Trump-related cases "is yet another example of the reality that the Christian-nationalist insurrection didn't end on January 6."
"Protecting our democracy and freedom is key to protecting our Christian values of love, equality and justice—and if Justice Thomas fails to recuse himself, his relationships to Trump's wealthy religious-right cronies like Leo and Crow and his wife's election denial could put that democracy on that line," Empsall said.
The petition was posted online on February 14 by the not-for-profit organization composed of Catholics and Protestants and others not affiliated with any church or denomination.
The initial goal of 15,000 signatures has been exceeded, garnering 19,159 as of the morning of February 23.
It also cites the Supreme Court's Code of Conduct adopted on November 13, 2023, which for the first time includes a written series of five ethical canons intended to guide justices' behavior. While ethics laws and regulations previously existed, they have not been adopted in such a specific manner.
Faithful America said that the "corrupt" Associate Justice Thomas signed that new code of conduct, which prohibits a justice from ruling in a case in which their "impartiality might reasonably be questioned"—including when it's known that the "Justice's spouse" has "an interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding [or] is likely to be a material witness in the proceeding."
"The record is very clear about your wife's role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, as well as your own ties to Leonard Leo," the petition reads. "For justice to prevail, you must immediately recuse yourself from The United States of America v. Donald J. Trump, and pledge to do so from any future cases regarding Trump and the 2020 election as well."
In December 2022, Ginni Thomas was questioned by the U.S. House committee investigating the January 6 riot following reports that she had texted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, urging him to continue challenging the 2020 election results. She has since expressed regret over the texts, saying she was "probably just emoting."
She also has denied influencing her husband, the lone justice who opposed disclosing White House documents to the January 6 committee. Ginni Thomas allegedly lobbied lawmakers in Arizona and Wisconsin to block the certification of Biden's victory, according to a September 22 report in The Washington Post.
The calls for recusal come as public trust in the Supreme Court is at an all-time low. Just 47 percent of the American public trusts the judicial branch, according to a Gallup poll from September 2023, worse than the previous low of 53 percent. Just 40 percent approved of the job it's doing, tied for a record low. A record-high 42 percent of respondents said the court is too conservative.
Faithful America previously circulated petitions against other conservative figures, including Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
In April 2023, the group petitioned Google to reinstate its ban against Trump and keep the former president off YouTube as "the twice-impeached ex-president may be more of a threat to safety and democracy now than ever before," the organization said at the time.
After Johnson took over House leadership in October, the organization said the Louisiana Republican could be the "most dangerous Christian nationalist leader" in the U.S. government.
Update 02/23/24, 12:43 p.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Faithful America.
Update 02/23/24, 13:57 p.m. ET: This story was updated to reflect approaching the Supreme Court for comment.
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
