The articles of impeachment introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be voted on in the House, and they are devastating for Justices Alito and Thomas.
The impeachment resolutions against Thomas and Alito list the impeachable offenses:
The first impeachment resolution includes the following impeachment articles against Justice Thomas:Â
- Failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions, among other information.
- Refusal to recuse from matters concerning his spouseâs legal interest in cases before the court.
- Refusal to recuse from matters involving his spouseâs financial interest in cases before the court.
The second impeachment resolution includes the following impeachment articles against Justice Alito:Â
- Refusal to recuse from cases in which he had a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party in cases before the court.
- Failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions, among other information.
Justice Thomas and Alitoâs 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. 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. These failures alone would amount to a deep transgression worthy of standard removal in any lower court, and would disqualify any nominee to the highest court from confirmation in the first place.
Given the courtâs 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.
The resolutions themselves are devastating. The Thomas resolution is 15 pages long and lays out how Justice Thomas is corrupted, conflicted, and has failed to disclose to the American people his gift-taking, as he refused to recuse himself in cases that were impacted by his wife’s political activities. The Alito resolution is ten pages long and details the Justice’s failure to disclose gifts that he has taken from wealthy conservatives and his failure to recuse.
Because these are privileged resolutions, the Congresswoman can force them to be voted on in the House, but they will not be passed. The attention they will receive will shine a light on the conservative Supreme Court majority’s corruption and warn the conservatives of what will be coming if Democrats take back the House majority in November.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
