ONE SHOT

Trump Lawyers Thought Clarence Thomas Was ‘Only Chance’ to Thwart 2020 Election Certification

“We want to frame things so that Thomas could be the one to issue some sort of stay or other circuit justice opinion saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt.”

Donald Trump’s attorneys believed a helpful decision from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was their “only chance” at thwarting the 2020 election results, according to new emails released to Congress and obtained by Politico. “We want to frame things so that Thomas could be the one to issue some sort of stay or other circuit justice opinion saying Georgia is in legitimate doubt,” Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro wrote in an email to the former president’s legal team in December 2020. He wrote that Thomas, the justice who handles Georgia’s “ emergency matters,” would be their “only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6, which might hold up the Georgia count in Congress,” according to Politico. John Eastman, another one of Trump’s lawyers, wrote back: “I think I agree with this.” Eastman tried to hold back the emails—which are not yet public—from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, but a judge ordered them to be handed them over to the committee last week. “[I]f we can just get this case pending before the Supreme Court by Jan. 5, ideally with something positive written by a judge or justice, hopefully Thomas, I think it’s our best shot at holding up the count of a state in Congress,” Chesebro said.