Clarence Thomas decries Washington as 'hideous' and pushes back on 'nastiness' of critics, "bomb your good reputatio [View all]

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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas repeatedly pushed back on his critics during remarks Friday at a judicial conference in Alabama, lamenting what he described as the “nastiness” and “lies” directed at him and calling Washington a “hideous place.”

Asked whether his jurisprudence required a degree of courage, Thomas said he didn’t view himself as courageous – particularly when compared with servicemembers, and firefighters and people who defuse bombs. Thomas said he was simply doing his job.

“Being in Washington, you have to get used to particularly people who are reckless,” Thomas, a conservative and the court’s most senior associate justice, said. “They don’t bomb you, necessarily, but they bomb your reputation or your good name or your honor. And that’s not a crime but they can do as much harm that way.”

Speaking at the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals conference in Point Clear, Alabama, Thomas argued that it would be a disservice to those soldiers and first responders “not to sit at my desk and make decisions with a lifetime appointment that we know are the right decisions.”

Thomas, while not speaking directly to a series of reports about ethics that have plagued him for months, repeatedly returned to his critics without prompting from US District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, who moderated the discussion.

“My wife and I, the last two or three years, it’s been – just the nastiness and the lies – it’s just incredible,” Thomas said.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/10/politics/clarence-thomas-pushes-back-critics/index.html