In the upcoming documentary Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, the Supreme Court justice fired back at the 1991 Democrat-led Senate Judiciary Committee for their conduct during his confirmation process.
“I felt as though in my life I had been looking at the wrong people as the people who would be problematic toward me. We were told that, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be the bigot in the pickup truck; it’s gonna be the Klansmen; it’s gonna be the rural sheriff,’” Thomas, 71, said about the proceedings in the film, according to ABC News.
“But it turned out that through all of that, ultimately the biggest impediment was the modern day liberal,” he added. “They were the ones who would discount all those things because they have one issue or because they have the power to caricature you.”
The film, produced by Michael Pack and Manifold Productions, is reportedly set to be released in early 2020. Prior to the theatrical release date, ABC News were allowed an early screening. The publicist for Created Equal said the filmmakers conducted over 22 hours of interviews with Thomas over the span of six months in 2018.
Thomas also responded to the sexual misconduct allegations against him made by Anita Hill, an African-American professor who testified before the committee during his confirmation hearings 28 years ago. Thomas has previously unequivocally denied the allegations and continued to do so in the film.
“Do I have like stupid written on the back of my shirt? I mean come on. We know what this is all about,” Thomas said. “People should just tell the truth: ‘This is the wrong black guy; he has to be destroyed.’ Just say it. Then now we’re at least honest with each other.”
“The idea was to get rid of me,” he claimed. “And then after I was there, it was to undermine me.”
When asked to respond to Biden’s questions during the confirmation process, Thomas said he “didn’t really appreciate” what the then-senator was trying to do.
In response, Bill Russo, Biden’s communications director, suggested that Thomas “does not have a positive view of” Biden because he voted against him “in the Senate Judiciary Committee, he argued against him on the Senate floor, and he voted against his confirmation to a lifetime seat on the Supreme Court.”
“Most of my opponents on the judiciary committee cared about only one thing,” Thomas said. “How would I rule on abortion rights. You really didn’t matter and your life didn’t matter. What mattered is what they wanted and what they wanted was this particular issue.”
Thomas, born June 1948, is currently the most senior associate justice on the Supreme Court. He is also the longest-serving member.
