Clarence Thomas's New Clerk Is Famous For Saying 'I HATE BLACK PEOPLE'
Too racist for Turning Point USA, just right for Clarence Thomas.
Screencap via https://www.tmz.com/watch/0-k1q6fmm1/
In retrospect, it was always stunningly obvious this would happen. Honestly, I’m annoyed I didn’t have this piece pre-written and ready to go the way newspapers do with obituaries of the old and powerful.
If you haven’t heard, over the weekend, legal circles were set a buzz when news of Justice Clarence Thomas’s latest law clerk hiring broke.
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Of course, Crystal Clanton is a veritable regular in the pages of Above the Law for all the wrong reasons. Clanton used to work at conservative student group Turning Point USA. But then in 2017, reports surfaced that she texted co-workers, “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE. Like fuck them all . . . I hate blacks. End of story.” And, just like that, she was out at Turning Point USA. There were more reports of bigoted comments from Clanton, but she managed to bounce back with a job with Ginni Thomas (Clarence’s wife).
She then was admitted to ASS Law — otherwise known as George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, for the uninitiated. From there, she was able secure clerkships Judge Corey Maze of the Northern District of Alabama and the Eleventh Circuit’s Judge William Pryor. But her infamous reputation brought smoke — and a formal investigation — to the judges who hired her. Ultimately, the Judicial Council of the Second Circuit found there was no misconduct on the part of the judges who hired Clanton.
Now she’s wound up with one of the most prestigious jobs in the legal industry. Fucking fantastic. But as I mentioned at the top, this move was always preordained. Not just that she worked for Ginni, though that’s the start of it. But Clanton has long bragged about her relationship with the Thomases.
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And Clanton even lived with the Thomases for almost a year before she went to law school.
So yes, after catapulting into the national consciousness for saying “I HATE BLACK PEOPLE,” Clanton has turned that notoriety into a Supreme Court clerkship with the second Black Supreme Court justice. What a fucking world. And let’s be clear — there is no redemption arc at play. Clanton made no apologies, no growth, no mea culpa for her hateful words. She just climbed the conservative social ladder, because racism isn’t a disqualifying trait to the far right — if anything, the (justified) firestorm Clanton has withstood is seen as bona fides of the conviction to withstand the ire of the left.
Earlier: On Second Thought, Maybe Federal Judges Shouldn’t Have Hired The Law School Student Famously Accused Of Saying ‘I HATE BLACK PEOPLE’
Federal Judges That Hired The ‘I HATE BLACK PEOPLE’ Law School Student Cleared Of Misconduct
Congress Wants Some Answers About Federal Judges Hiring The ‘I HATE BLACK PEOPLE’ Law School Student
The Other Federal Judge Advancing The ‘I HATE BLACK PEOPLE’ Law Student’s Career
Law School Student Famous For Saying ‘I HATE BLACK PEOPLE’ Now Has Prestigious Federal Clerkship
Shockingly, Law School Named For Affirmative Action Opponent Bad At Race And Diversity
‘I HATE BLACK PEOPLE’ Says Ginni Thomas’s Assistant (Yes, Clarence’s Wife)
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
