More than 100 former clerks for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas signed an open letter defending his independence and integrity amid media reports that suggest he received improper gifts from a Texas billionaire.
"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," their letter said (pdf).
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas poses for the official group photograph at the U.S. Supreme Court in the District of Columbia on Nov. 30, 2018. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)
The 112 individuals who signed the letter include three circuit court judges, including Judge David Stras of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Judge James Ho of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and Judge Allison Rushing of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
"And these stories are malicious, perpetuating the ugly assumption that the Justice cannot think for himself. They are part of a larger attack on the Court and its legitimacy as an institution," the letter also stated. "The picture they paint of the Court and the man for whom we worked bears no resemblance to reality."