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‘Unchecked corruption:’ AOC seeks impeachment of Supreme Court justices
Insights from Semafor, ABC News, and Axios
The News
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, alleging that their refusal to recuse themselves from cases “in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements” has created an “unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court.”
The New York congresswoman was referencing Alito’s controversial refusal to recuse himself from two cases related to former President Donald Trump after the justice’s wife flew apparently pro-Trump flags outside their home. The other charges were related to the justices’ failure to disclose lavish gifts via the Court’s official ethics process, as well as Thomas’ wife’s role in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Arizona.
SIGNALS
Impeachment push follows controversial Trump immunity ruling
Congressional Democrats renewed talks of judicial reform after the Supreme Court ruled in Trump’s favor last week, dramatically expanding the powers of the presidency and protecting him and all other presidents from prosecution over “official acts” taken while in office. “Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X, vowing to draft articles of impeachment. “It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture.” Rep. Joe Morelle, a fellow New York Democrat, proposed introducing a constitutional amendment to reverse the court’s immunity ruling.
Impeachment unlikely to move in current House
The impeachment of a Supreme Court justice — which has only been achieved once in the nation’s history — is a political longshot. Congress can remove a federal judge for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors” via an impeachment vote by the House of Representatives and a trial and conviction by the Senate. Two thirds of the Senate must find the justice guilty to remove them from office. But for the House to even adopt the articles of impeachment, it would need a simple majority vote of 218. Republicans hold 219 seats and Democrats hold 213, making that milestone unlikely.
Scandals ‘highlight failure of Supreme Court’s ethics rules’
The recent spate of scandals shows that the Court’s recently released code of ethics is falling short— and requires Congress to step in and shore up rules for justices, two Brennan Center experts wrote. The court “needs genuine ethics rules, not the hazy and unenforceable guidelines it approved last year that have no teeth,” The Chicago Sun-Times’ editorial board wrote, adding that Senate Judiciary Committee head Dick Durbin has a “civic duty” to hold hearings on Alito’s flag-related actions. Judicial watchdog group Fix the Court suggested that Congress could appoint an inspector general to investigate potential misconduct, or the court could take other steps to “self-regulate.”
