Anchorage attorney accuses Justice Clarence Thomas of groping

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. (Public domain photo by Steve Petteway/Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States)

An Anchorage attorney says U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas groped her 17 years ago, when she was a scholar in a post-college program in Washington, D.C.

Moira Smith, now an attorney for the gas utility Enstar, wrote on Facebook that it happened before a dinner party at her then-boss’s house in a Virginia suburb. She said in her Oct. 7 post that, “to my complete shock, he groped me while I was setting the table, suggesting I should sit ‘right next to him.’”

Smith’s post came as the country was reacting to a video of Donald Trump boasting he could grab women with impunity. Thousands of women took to social media to tell their accounts of being harassed and assaulted by men, many of whom were never held to account.

Smith later took down her Facebook post. The National Law Journal broke the story. Smith’s friends said today she’s not doing interviews but she issued a statement. In it, she said she was speaking up to set an example of truth-telling for her children and in hopes of ending the pervasiveness of sexual misconduct.

National Law Journal reports that Thomas denies the accusation and called it “preposterous.”

Anchorage Assemblyman Bill Evans said he’s known Smith since she was an intern at the law firm where he worked, Dorsey and Whitney. Evans said Smith is honest and trust-worthy.

“Certainly as credible as anyone I know. I believe entirely in what she said.”

Smith clerked for state Supreme Court Justice Dana Fabe and later worked at the firm Ashburn and Mason in Anchorage.

Assemblyman Evans said he and Smith run in the same social circles and saw her original Facebook post a few weeks ago.

“It was shocking and very saddening.”

Thomas is in his 25th year on the Supreme Court. The Senate confirmed him in 1991 despite law professor Anita Hill’s accusations of sexual harassment.

Alaska Public Media

Alaska Public Media is one of our partner stations in Anchorage. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences.

Sign up for The Signal

Top Alaska stories delivered to your inbox every week

Site notifications
Update notification options
Subscribe to notifications