Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas complained on Friday about the “nastiness” and “lies” against him and his wife while slamming Washington D.C. as a “hideous place.”
“We’re in a world and we — certainly 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 while speaking at the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals conference in Point Clear, Alabama on Friday, according to CNN.
“But you have some choices. You don’t get to prevent people from doing horrible things or saying horrible things. But one you have to understand and accept the fact that they can’t change you unless you permit that,” he added.
Thomas and his wife, Ginni, have faced criticisms especially around Ginni’s involvement in the attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Ginni has admitted to attending the Trump rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol and reportedly pressed several state lawmakers in Arizona to overturn the results of the election in the state.
As a result, critics have called on Thomas to recuse himself from Supreme Court cases involving the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
Thomas is also facing criticism for accepting lavish gifts from wealthy GOP megadonor Harlan Crow without disclosing them.
On Friday, Thomas did not go into details about the criticism he receives, but says Washington D.C. is a “hideous place” filled with “reckless” people who will “bomb your reputation.”
“Being in Washington, you have to get used to particularly people who are reckless,” Thomas 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.”
“I think what you are going to find and especially in Washington, people pride themselves on being awful,” he added. “It is a hideous place as far as I’m concerned.”
