Justice Thomas recuses himself in ex-Trump lawyer's Jan. 6 case appeal

The big picture: The Supreme Court's order did not provide a reason for Thomas' recusal. The court did not immediately reply to Axios' request for comment.

• But Thomas, who has faced intense scrutiny this year after reported ethical breaches, has faced calls from Democrats to recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases.
• Texts obtained by the Washington Post and CBS News last year showed that his wife, Ginni Thomas, played an active role in encouraging then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to help overturn the 2020 election results.
• Ginni Thomas also exchanged emails with Eastman, though Eastman denied wrongdoing in the correspondence.

Zoom in: Eastman is an ex-Trump lawyer who championed the legal theory the former president used to try to pressure Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election results.

• He is a co-defendant in the Georgia election interference case.
• He was also once a clerk for Thomas.

Details: Eastman's appeal sought to reverse a lower court ruling that allowed the House Jan. 6 select committee to access emails that he had tried to shield though attorney-client privilege.

• U.S. District Court Judge David Carter had ordered the emails to be turned over in 2022, ruling that Trump and Eastman had "more likely than not" engaged in criminal conduct as part of an effort to obstruct the vote certification on Jan. 6.
• The legal case was ultimately rendered moot after the emails became public.
• Eastman appealed the ruling anyway, arguing it created a "stigma" and denied him the chance to clear his name by proving that the crime-fraud exception was wrong, CNN reported.

Go deeper: Trump co-defendant John Eastman surrenders in Georgia 2020 election case

Editor's note: This story was updated with a new photo.