Justice Clarence Thomas says those who dislike him and the direction he’s led the Supreme Court should blame the snobbish law firms that didn’t offer him a job when he emerged from Yale Law School in the 1970s.
A highly educated Black lawyer would seem to be a big get for a law company, but Justice Thomas received just one job offer — and it wasn’t from any of the firms. It was from the Republican attorney general of Missouri — an odd fit for a law school graduate who’d just voted for left-wing George McGovern for president.
But that job placed him on the path to the high court.
“But for them, I’d be a tax lawyer some place,” Justice Thomas told Sen. Ted Cruz on the Texas Republican’s “Verdict” podcast. “They’re woke now, but they were fast asleep when I got out of school.”
Justice Thomas said his appearance on Mr. Cruz’s show may be his first time ever on a podcast. He timed it to the release of Mr. Cruz’s new book, “Going Further: The Incomparable Clarence Thomas,” which details the justice’s three decades on the bench and his willingness to forge jurisprudence for the court.
SEE ALSO: Why Clarence Thomas was ‘scary’ in law school
Justice Thomas spoke about his time at Yale, pointing out that fellow Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. was a year behind him.
He said he once asked why they weren’t friends at the time. He said Justice Alito’s response was, “Clarence, you were scary.”
Justice Thomas couldn’t disagree. “I wore bib overalls throughout law school and combat boots. It was just awful,” he said.
Justice Thomas thanked Mr. Cruz for standing up for him when he and his wife were under scrutiny by Democrats and left-wing advocates for work she did as part of the conservative movement supporting President Trump.
“It’s an opportunity to say you are one of the people who stand up at times when others seem to wither,” Justice Thomas told Mr. Cruz. “We really appreciate that.”
“Going Further” hit shelves on Tuesday.
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