- Kevin McCarthy said Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' recusal from January 6 cases is his call.
- "It's his decision based upon law," the GOP leader said during a news conference.
- Thomas' wife pressured President Donald Trump's chief of staff to challenge the 2020 election.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday said it's up to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to decide whether to recuse himself from any cases related to the January 6 investigation, following news that Thomas' wife pushed former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to challenge the 2020 election results.
"I think Justice Thomas could make his decisions like he's made them every other time. It's his decision based upon law," McCarthy said during a news conference at the House GOP retreat in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
"If you spent any time studying the Supreme Court justice, he's one who studies correctly and I mean, from all the way through. If he sees it's not upholding the Constitution, he'll rule against it," the Republican leader added. "That's what his job should be. It's him."
The Washington Post on Thursday published a bombshell report revealing text messages that Thomas' wife, Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, sent Meadows in the weeks after the 2020 election, in which she urged him to challenge the results because of claims of widespread voter fraud. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Federal, state and local officials have repeatedly said that the election was fair and accurate.
In one message sent on November 6, 2020, Ginni told Meadows that then-President Donald Trump should not concede the election.
"Do not concede. It takes time for the army who is gathering for his back," she wrote to Meadows, per the Post.
In another message sent on November 10, 2020, days after then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 election, Ginni wrote to Meadows: "Help This Great President stand firm, Mark!!!"
"You are the leader, with him, who is standing for America's constitutional governance at the precipice. The majority knows Biden and the Left is attempting the greatest Heist of our History," the text continued, per the Post.
The total of 29 texts exchanged between Ginni and Meadows from November 2020 to January 2021 are among the thousands of messages that the House select committee investigating the January 6 Capitol riot obtained from Meadows as part of its probe, CNN first reported on Thursday.
The newly unveiled texts also come after Ginni recently acknowledged in an interview with the Washington Free Beacon that she attended the "Stop the Steal" rally that took place on the Ellipse near the White House on January 6, 2021. Yet, she said she got cold and left early before Trump spoke and crowds of his supporters eventually stormed the Capitol.
In light of the texts, Thomas has come under scrutiny for his objection to a decision released two months ago, in which the Supreme Court rejected Trump's bid to block the release of some White House records to the January 6 committee for its investigation. The ruling was 8-1, and Thomas was the sole dissenter.
Unlike McCarthy, some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns with Thomas. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon on Friday called on Thomas to recuse himself from any cases related to January 6. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota on Thursday evening said that Thomas should be impeached.
Thomas has also been in the news because he was hospitalized with an infection. He was released from the hospital on Friday, the Supreme Court announced.