Clarence Thomas says he has 'no idea why or how' he got nominated to the Supreme Court: book

Clarence Thomas said that he had no idea why he was nominated to the Supreme Court in 1991, as he recounted the process that set him up to become one of the most consequential conservatives on the bench.

The book "Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words," co-edited by Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta, was an expanded companion to the 2020 documentary of the same name.

Thomas was surprised to hear that Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall was stepping down from the high court.

I don't know why or how I was nominated. The retirement of Justice Marshall was a shock to me. This is going to be bad. People will think I'm a nominee.

Thomas was a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit when he was nominated by Bush.

White House Counsel C. calls me. Boyden Gray asked Justice Marshall if he was ready for another walk. The man said, "Thomas said."

He said that Mark was sent to take him to the situation room at the Justice Department and that Mark was parked across the street from the DC Circuit. We went to the justice department. That is where it began. They wanted to know who my approach was closest to on the court. I mentioned Justice Scalia because of his opinion in the case.

The Independent Counsel Act was found to be constitutional by the court.

Antonin Scalia wrote that the law should be stuck down because criminal prosecution is an exercise of purely executive power.

After speaking to the president, Thomas ran into the first lady on the family's property in Maine. He found out about his nomination a short time later.

We ran into Mrs. Bush as we walked by the Bush residence. He said in the interview that his heart sank when she said "CONGRATULATIONS" She said she let the cat out.

The president asked Thomas two questions about becoming an associate justice.

He wanted to know if you could call the Supreme Court when you see them. Thomas said that he knew how to do it.

"Can you and your family get through confirmation?" he asked. I believe I can get through one more after four. He said he wouldn't criticize any opinion of yours if you went on the court. He said at two o'clock that he was nominating you to the Supreme Court. Let's eat lunch together.

After the death of Scalia, Thomas became a pillar of the court's conservative wing.