Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other Democrats filed articles of impeachment Wednesday against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, as Democrats have railed against the conservative-leaning justices for alleged ethics violations—though the effort to oust the justices is sure to fail.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito attend a private ceremony for retired ... [+]
The articles of impeachment accuse the two justices of committing high crimes and misdemeanors by failing to disclose gifts and recuse themselves from cases, with the lawmakers filing three articles of impeachment against Thomas and two against Alito.
The lawmakers alleged Thomas should be impeached because he failed to disclose numerous luxury vacations he received from real estate magnate Harlan Crow, as well as a real estate transaction with him, and because the justice didn’t recuse himself in cases in which his wife—a right-wing activist—had a financial or legal interest, including cases involving the 2020 election.
Alito should be impeached because he didn’t recuse himself from cases in which he had a personal bias, the lawmakers alleged, pointing to the justice participating in cases involving the 2020 election and Jan. 6 riot despite reports he and his wife flew flags associated with the “Stop the Steal” movement outside their homes.
The lawmakers also called for Alito’s impeachment because he accepted luxury travel without disclosing it, following reports that Alito traveled with billionaire Paul Singer, whose hedge fund had business before the court.
The Supreme Court has not yet responded to a request for comment, but both Thomas and Alito have previously denied any wrongdoing or ethical misconduct, claiming their actions were above board and they were not required to disclose their travel.
In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, the impeachment articles 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.
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The gifts that Alito and Thomas accepted without disclosing them mean “a reasonable person would believe that he used his public office for his own private gain or for the private gain of his donors,” the impeachment articles against both justices state. “In all of this, [Justices Alito and Thomas have]
The impeachment effort is all but certain to fail, as Republicans have heavily opposed Democrats’ ethics criticisms of the justices and attempts to investigate them or impose reforms.
Impeachment of Supreme Court justices follows the same process as presidential impeachments: the House would first determine whether to impeach the official, and then the Senate would hold a trial to decide whether they should be removed from office. Justice Samuel Chase is the only Supreme Court justice who’s ever been impeached, but while the House voted to impeach him in 1805, he was then acquitted by the Senate.
Thomas has previously said his gifts from Crow were merely hospitality from a close friend, and did start disclosing some travel on financial disclosures in 2022 and 2023, claiming he was now obligated to do so under new rules, but wasn’t before. (Senators have found several trips after the rule change that Thomas still failed to disclose.) His wife Ginni Thomas has denied her work has any impact on her husband, claiming the two do not discuss any cases. Crow has also denied any wrongdoing and said he and the justice do not discuss the court. Alito has strongly denied ethical wrongdoing, penning a Wall Street Journal op-ed before the ProPublica report came out about his relationship with Singer, claiming the outlet “misleads its readers.” He has also denied any involvement with the controversial flag-flying, saying it was his wife’s decision and he played no role in it.
The articles of impeachment are part of a broader outrage over alleged ethics infractions by Supreme Court justices, particularly Thomas and Alito. Democrats have long called for Thomas to resign or be removed from office amid the controversies over his wife Ginni’s right-wing activism and the slew of gifts he’s received from wealthy friends, and the impeachment efforts come after two senators asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate the justice last week. Criticism against Alito reached a fever pitch in May as reports came out regarding he and his wife’s flag-flying, though the justice had also faced previous scrutiny over his travel with Singer and a New York Times report suggesting he may have leaked the court’s 2014 decision in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby. (Alito has denied sharing the decision.) Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have attempted to hold hearings on the ethics issues—with Chief Justice John Roberts rebuffing their request for him to testify—and pass legislation imposing a binding code of ethics on the court, like federal judges in lower courts already have to follow. Those efforts have failed as Republicans blocked the measures, and while the Supreme Court announced its own new code of ethics in November, ethics experts have criticized it for not going far enough, as it does not impose any consequences if the justices violate it.