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Jimmy Williams
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on Wednesday.
She accused them of refusing to recuse themselves from significant cases, which she believes “constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law.”
In her statement, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that the justices’ refusal to step aside from cases where they have “widely documented financial and personal entanglements” has created an “unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court.” She said, “This constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law, the integrity of our democracy, and one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed.”
The Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Ocasio-Cortez’s statement highlighted Alito’s “refusal to recuse from cases in which he had a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party in cases before the court” and his “failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions, among other information.”
The impeachment resolutions were co-sponsored by Reps. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y.
One of the charges against Alito involves two controversial flags displayed outside his homes—an upside-down American flag and an “Appeal to Heaven” flag. Both flags have been associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement, whose supporters falsely claim that President Joe Biden did not lawfully win the 2020 election. Alito has stated that it was his wife’s decision to fly the flags.
Alito also did not recuse himself from two Trump-related cases that were pending before the court when the flags’ presence was first reported. Additionally, Alito’s relationship with hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer is under scrutiny. ProPublica reported that Singer took Alito on a fishing trip to Alaska, which Alito did not disclose in ethics reports. Alito later did not recuse himself from cases involving Singer.
The impeachment article against Thomas focuses on his “failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions, among other information,” as well as his “refusal to recuse from matters concerning his spouse’s legal and financial interests in cases before the court.”
Thomas’ relationship with GOP mega-donor Harlan Crow has drawn intense scrutiny. ProPublica reported that Thomas accepted lavish gifts such as vacations and flights without disclosing them on official ethics forms. Critics have also targeted Thomas for his wife Ginni Thomas’ conservative political activism, particularly her involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
After the election, Ginni Thomas sent messages to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, urging him to stand with Trump. She later expressed regret for sending those texts.
Despite the controversies, Clarence Thomas did not recuse himself from two Trump-related cases: a constitutional challenge to Trump’s re-election candidacy and Trump’s presidential immunity claims, both of which resulted in wins for Trump. Thomas did, however, recuse himself from a separate Jan. 6-related case in October 2023.
