“Justice Clarence Thomas said Monday that he has ‘no idea’ where rumors started that he was going to retire from the Supreme Court this summer,” the Washington Post reports.

“Thomas, 70, did not actually say during a conversation before the Supreme Court Historical Society that he was staying on the court. But he made it sound as though rumors of his departure were groundless.”

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was adamant when he told a friendly Pepperdine University School of Law audience that he had no plans to retire from the court, the National Law Journal reports.

Jeffrey Toobin: “It’s true that Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, would likely violate his Merrick Garland rule and try to push through a nominee in 2020, an election year, but 2019 would be much easier to navigate. So, many conservatives are asking, why shouldn’t Thomas leave now?”

“It seems that the President may have had the same thought. Trump has shown unusual solicitude for Justice Thomas and his wife, Ginni, a hard-right political activist. The President and the First Lady had the Thomases to dinner, and then Trump welcomed Ginni and some of her movement colleagues to the White House for an hour-long discussion.”

“Trump rarely engages in this kind of cultivation, and it’s reasonable to speculate that he’s trying to persuade the Justice that his seat would be in good hands if he decided to leave.”

Justice Clarence Thomas, “a reliable conservative vote on the Supreme Court, is mulling retirement after the presidential election,” the Washington Examiner reports.

“Thomas, appointed by former President George H.W. Bush and approved by the Senate after a bitter confirmation, has been considering retirement for a while and never planned to stay until he died.”

Justice Clarence Thomas has asked questions during a Supreme Court argument for the first time in 10 years, the AP reports.

“Thomas’ unusual silence over the years has become a curiosity. Thomas has said previously he relies on the written briefs and doesn’t need to ask questions of the lawyers appearing in court.”