Justice Clarence Thomas gives damning assessment of Washington and 'nastiness' of his critics

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas issued his verdict Friday at the 11th Circuit Judicial Conference in Point Clear, Alabama: The nation's capital is "a hideous place" oriented both toward character assassination and away from the truth.

During his hour-long appearance at the conference Friday, U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle asked Justice Thomas about working in a mean-spirited world, reported the Associated Press.

Justice Thomas explained to Mizelle as well as to the other judges, attorneys, and others with business in the federal appeals court who had gathered for the conference, "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."

'I think what you are going to find, and especially in Washington, people pride themselves on being awful.'

"But you have some choices," continued Thomas. "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."

Democrats and other radicals have long attacked Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas. These attacks appear historically to have been most pronounced around the time of consequential Supreme Court decisions where his vote could spell trouble for leftist designs, such as as the court's 2022 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization or the court's 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore.

The latest attack campaign grew out of a coordinated reaction to a ProPublica report last year, which indicated that Thomas legally accepted three rides and vacations from Republican donor Harlan Crow.

While turning a blind eye to the questionable actions of liberal justices, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) joined the chorus of Democrats condemning Thomas, writing, "Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and the United States Supreme Court with his acceptance of massive, repeated and undisclosed gifts. No government official, elected or unelected, could ethically or legally accept gifts of that scale. He should resign immediately."

Anti-Israeli activist Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) similarly demanded last year that Thomas resign.

While Democrats frequently attempt to anchor their antipathy toward Thomas in a perceived scandal, sometimes they don't bother pretending it's about anything besides partisan politics. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), for instance, has repeatedly called Thomas an "Uncle Tom" on account of his constitutionalist views on affirmative action and other issues.

The liberal media has taken part in this long-standing campaign to vilify Thomas and to pressure him to resign.

The now-defunct magazine Emerge ran an issue with an illustration of Thomas shining the late Justice Antonin Scalia's shoes, reported Newsweek.

Instead of offensive cartoons, alleged comedian John Oliver tried a bribe on his HBO show "Last Week Tonight." Oliver pledged to pay Justice Thomas $1 million annually and buy him a $2.4 million Prevost luxury motor coach if he resigned.

Justice Thomas indicated Friday that there are "reckless" people who lurk about the city keen to "bomb your reputation."

"They don't bomb you necessarily, but they bomb your reputation or your good name or your honor," said Thomas. "And that's not a crime. But they can do as much harm that way."

Justice Thomas also told Mizelle, "I think what you are going to find, and especially in Washington, people pride themselves on being awful. It is a hideous place as far as I'm concerned."

Justice Thomas indicated that he and his wife have taken to RVing to avoid the kind of personalities that predominate in Washington.

"You get to be around regular people who don't pride themselves in doing harmful things, merely because they have the capacity to do it or because they disagree," said the Supreme Court justice.

Christopher Bedford, senior editor for politics and Washington correspondent for Blaze Media, indicated Justice Thomas' statements ring true.

"In Clarence Thomas' long and distinguished career in Washington, D.C., he was greeted by terrible people who treated him terribly. That's continued throughout his entire tenure — from then-Senator Joe Biden lecturing him on legal theories that Biden, by the way, had no idea about, to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture washing him out of black history, to the indignities and political attacks that his wife has had to endure," Bedford told Blaze News. "There's no reason at all for Clarence Thomas to like this city one bit."

"It's really a great benefit to us that he makes the sacrifice of staying here as opposed to just hitting the road and driving across the country, which is what he likes to spend his off time doing," added Bedford.

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