Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, 75, rejoins oral arguments

Conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas returned to court Tuesday for oral arguments after being mysteriously absent from court Monday. It comes as the Supreme Court hears arguments in a Jan. 6 case, Fischer v. United States.

On Monday, Chief Justice John Roberts said Thomas ‘is not on the bench today’ in court but would ‘participate fully’ in two cases being argued based on the briefs and transcripts.

The Supreme Court did not respond to DailyMail.com’s request for further information on his absence. The court has sometimes said in the past when a judge is sick, but not always. Thomas returned to the bench in time to hear arguments in a high-stakes case that could lead to some charges against people connected to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, including Donald Trump, being overturned.

The case involves a former Pennsylvania police officer, Joseph Fischer, who was charged with assault on a police officer, disorderly conduct in the Capitol and obstruction of congressional proceedings after entering the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Fischer has asked the nation’s highest court to toss the felony obstruction charge, arguing that the law he is accused of violating was intended to apply only to tampering with evidence and not events like Jan. 6.

He is accused of violating a provision of the Sarbane-Oxley Act, which was passed in 2002 after the Enron scandal. Violators can face up to 20 years in prison. It has been used to convict a few of the more than 150 people who attended on January 6.

Thomas not only returned to court Tuesday after his unexplained absence, but also asked the first question during arguments for the case. Some critics suggested that Thomas should have recused himself from proceedings on January 6 because of his wife Ginni Thomas’ behind-the-scenes role in the ‘Stop the Steel’ effort. Ginni Thomas was at the convention on January 6, but did not enter the Capitol.

Justice Thomas, 75, is one of nine justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and has served on the nation’s highest court since 1991, making him currently the longest-serving justice on the court.

While his one-day absence on Monday was unexplained, Thomas was hospitalized two years ago with an infection that caused him to miss several court appearances then as well. The Supreme Court has a conservative majority of 6-3.

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