Over the past two years, both Thomas and Alito have been the targets of investigations by ProPublica, a left-wing media outlet, which published reports detailing ties to wealthy political donors. ProPublica alleged that both Justices have received numerous gifts, often in the form of trips and dinners, that were subject to federal reporting requirements under the federal Ethics in Government Act. However, as explained in the U.S. government’s Filing Instructions For Judicial Officers and Employees, there are exemptions to reporting requirements for friends if the gift is “commensurate with the occasion and the relationship,” which could likely apply to both Thomas and Alito. Today, I introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has filed articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito over alleged ethics violations and refusal to recuse themselves from certain cases before the Court.
The impeachment effort is likely dead-on-arrival in the Republican-controlled House, but serves as a rallying cry for Democrats during an election year, when the Supreme Court faces renewed scrutiny and a historically low approval rating.
Read my full statement: https://t.co/is5EiLXw56 pic.twitter.com/AGGZhuZUm4
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 10, 2024 “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,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement accompanying the filing of the impeachment articles. “And their refusal to recuse from the specific matters and cases before the court in which their benefactors and spouses are implicated represents nothing less than a constitutional crisis.” Impeachment articles against Thomas include failure to disclose “financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions” and other information. They also include refusal to recuse himself from recent cases involving former President Donald Trump and January 6 rioters, in which Democrats allege Thomas’s wife has an interest.
Corruption, without consequence, infects all it touches. Congress must exercise its powers to impeach.
The corruption of Justices Thomas & Alito constitutes a clear danger to our democracy. I moved to impeach them because it is the right thing to do for the American people. pic.twitter.com/eOscx9avE1
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) July 11, 2024 The impeachment articles against Alito allege he failed to recuse himself from “cases in which he had a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party in cases before the court,” referencing the recent Trump and Jan. 6 cases. Alito was recently accused of bias after news reports ran about his wife flying flags at their two homes that were also flown by pro-America protestors. Alito’s impeachment resolution also accuses him of failing to disclose “financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions” and other information. "Given the court’s demonstrated inability to preserve its own legitimate conduct, it is incumbent upon Congress to contain the threat this poses to our democracy and the hundreds of millions of Americans harmed by the crisis of corruption unfurling within the court. Congress has a legal, moral, and democratic obligation to impeach,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
