On Wednesday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. The first impeachment resolution against Justice Thomas focuses on his failure to disclose financial income, gifts, and reimbursements. One of the key issues is Thomas’s acceptance of luxury vacations from Harlan Crow, a wealthy benefactor and GOP donor, and his attendance at donor events for a libertarian political organization founded by the billionaire Koch brothers. Additionally, the resolution highlights Thomas’s wife’s involvement in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. This conduct raises questions about Thomas’s failure to recuse himself from related cases before the court (read more).
The second impeachment resolution against Justice Alito pertains to his refusal to recuse from cases in which he may have had a personal bias or prejudice. Specifically, Alito allowed an “appeal to heaven flag” and an upside-down American flag to be flown outside his residence, symbols associated with efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. This was during a period when an upside-down American flag was widely recognized as supporting those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021 (more details).
In a press release, Representative Ocasio-Cortez explained, “Justice Thomas and Alito’s repeated failure over decades to disclose that they received millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law…these failures alone would amount to a profound transgression worthy of standard removal in any lower court and would disqualify any nominee to the highest court from confirmation in the first place.”
The US Supreme Court adopted a guide of conduct in November 2023, but it remains unclear who has the authority to enforce it besides the justices themselves.
The Constitution grants Congress the power to remove justices for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” through a vote of impeachment by the House of Representatives and a trial and conviction by the Senate. Despite support from House Representatives Barbara Lee (CA), Rashida Tlaib (MI), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ), Delia Ramirez (IL), Maxwell Frost (FL), Ilhan Omar (MN), Jamaal Bowman (NY), and Jasmine Crockett (TX), the resolutions face significant challenges in a Republican-led House (full article).