More than 100 of Justice Clarence Thomas’ former clerks banded together to defend their old boss amid continued attacks leveled against him from the political Left, challenging his integrity and independence.
Fox News Digital reported Tuesday on an open letter, signed by 112 of Thomas’ former clerks, that accused his attackers of being party to “a larger attack on the Court and its legitimacy” and described the Justice as “a man of greatest intellect, of greatest faith, and of greatest patriotism.”
“As his law clerks, we offer this response. Different paths led us to our year with Justice Thomas, and we have followed different paths since. But along the way, we all saw with our own eyes the same thing: His integrity is unimpeachable,” the letter began. “And his independence is unshakable, deeply rooted seven decades ago as that young child who walked through the door of his grandparents’ house for a life forever changed.”
The letter went on to describe Thomas’ upbringing and education, how he was changed by life in the segregated South, and how he had been destined for the priesthood before the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. led him to the law instead.
“He is a man of unwavering principle. He welcomes the lone dissent. He is also a man of great humor and warmth and generosity. Walk the halls, and you’ll hear his laugh. Call, and he answers,” the letter continued. “His grandfather’s sayings become our sayings. His chambers become our chambers – a place fueled by unstoppable curiosity and unreturned library books, all to get every case just right.”
The tone of the letter then turned, addressing recent attacks against Thomas regarding some of his personal friends and gifts he may have received from them.
“Lately, the stories have questioned his integrity and his ethics for the friends he keeps. They bury the lede. These friends are not parties before him as a Justice of the Court. And these stories are malicious, perpetuating the ugly assumption that the Justice cannot think for himself,” it continued. “They are part of a larger attack on the Court and its legitimacy as an institution. The picture they paint of the Court and the man for whom we worked bears no resemblance to reality.”
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