Supreme Court deals a blow to John Eastman as Clarence Thomas recuses himself

The Supreme Court spurned a petition Monday from former Trump lawyer John Eastman while Justice Clarence Thomas recused himself — the first time he has done so in a case involving the 45th president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election that culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.

Eastman had asked the high court to review a lower court order that effectively granted the now-defunct House select committee probing the riot access to a batch of his emails.

A list released Monday detailing the Supreme Court’s orders noted that “Thomas took no part in the consideration or decision of this petition.”

No explanation was provided for the recusal, as is typical in such orders.

Last year, Eastman sought to prevent the Jan. 6 committee from compelling Chapman University, his former employer, to fork over his emails. But multiple lower courts went against him.

At the time, the committee was pursuing his emails to inform its probe about efforts by Trump’s allies to overturn the 2020 election.

Eastman had championed a push to procure and then capitalize on an “alternate” slate of electors by having then-Vice President Mike Pence effectively throw out the election results in key states.

Pence declined to do so, contending the action would be unconstitutional. Eastman is one of 19 co-defendants slapped with charges in Georgia as a result of his scheme.

Eastman previously worked as a law clerk for Thomas, who is facing mounting ethics scrutiny over his receipt of travel and other gifts from billionaire GOP donor Harlan Crow.

In August, Eastman was one of more than 100 ex-clerks who vouched for Thomas in an open letter that read in part: “His integrity is unimpeachable. And his independence is unshakable.”

Some of Eastman’s previously publicized emails show that he knew some of the information Trump’s lawyers planned to file in Georgia court in December 2020 were inaccurate.

One of Pence’s aides has also alleged that Eastman confided in Trump before Jan. 6 that the effort to overturn the election was illegal.

Additionally, one of Eastman’s emails showed him speculating that Thomas would be the most amenable justice on the Supreme Court to Trump’s legal challenges.

Meanwhile, Thomas’ wife Ginni privately urged Trump confidants such as then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to “release the Kraken” — a nod to efforts to challenge the election.

She later submitted to questioning before the Jan. 6 panel.

The Supreme Court began its 2023-24 session Monday and is slated to grapple with a trove of hot-button cases ranging from gun control to social media content moderation.

Some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, particularly Democrats, have been clamoring for more stringent ethics requirements for justices in the wake of the Thomas revelations.