After the summer Amid scrutiny of the ethical practices of Supreme Court justices and their spouses, Ginni Thomas proves once again that court reform is necessary.

Thomas — the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas — heaped praise on a legal group opposing the Biden administration’s effort to impose a binding Supreme Court ethics code.

ProPublica reported Wednesday that Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of the First Liberty Institute, read the email from Thomas during a July 31 call with major donors to the conservative political group.

“YOU HAVE FILLED THE SAILS OF MANY JUDGES. CAN I SAY, THANK YOU VERY, VERY, VERY,” Thomas wrote in an email, praising First Liberty’s actions against efforts to strengthen judges’ ethical obligations to the public.

Shackelford told donors the email was an acknowledgment of the work they do on behalf of judges who “can’t get involved in politics and fighting.”

“It’s great that those of you who are part of this conversation are doing your part to protect the future of our court and we really appreciate that,” he added.

If Shackelford’s views weren’t clear enough, he attacked Justice Elena Kagan, calling her a “traitor” and “disloyal” for advocating for an external mechanism to enforce the Supreme Court’s ethics guidelines.

The fight over Supreme Court ethics reform intensified in May after Justice Samuel Alito refused to recuse himself from cases related to Jan. 6, despite reports that the justice had flown flags associated with the movement to overturn the 2020 election results outside his residence.

Alito blamed his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, for hanging one of the flags outside the couple’s home.

Ms. Alito is far from the first Supreme Court spouse to invite controversy to the court. Ginni Thomas has many of her own ties to the 2020 “Stop the Steal” movement and was a party to the scandal surrounding her husband’s association with influential conservative billionaires.

After the 2020 election, Ginni Thomas was an active voice in pro-Trump Republican efforts to overturn the vote. Thomas sent dozens of text messages to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, urging him to stop Democrats from pulling off “the greatest heist in our history.”

Thomas also called on GOP lawmakers to take to the streets and protest the election results.

ProPublica has reported extensively on the Thomases’ relationship with conservative billionaire Harlan Crowe. The wealthy conservative donor has lavished the couple with trips on private jets and luxury yachts, expensive vacations, tuition fees and even real estate.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are leading the charge for comprehensive court reform. “It is abundantly clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct,” Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said in June. “Despite record-low approval ratings and endless self-inflicted scandals, Chief Justice Roberts continues to refuse to use his current authority to implement an enforceable code of conduct. Until he acts, we will continue to work to make the Supreme Court Ethics, Disengagement, and Transparency Act law.”