Ocasio-Cortez Seeks Impeachment of Supreme Court's Thomas, Alito

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.

"Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito's pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements constitute a grave threat to American rule of law, the integrity of our democracy, and one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed," the New York Democrat said in a statement about the articles.

She added that the "unchecked corruption crisis" in the Supreme Court "has now spiraled into a constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large."

The congresswoman said in her statement that her articles of impeachment against Thomas accuse him of:

Failure to disclose financial income, gifts and reimbursements, property interests, liabilities, and transactions, among other information.
Refusal to recuse from matters concerning his spouse's legal interest in cases before the court.
Refusal to recuse from matters involving his spouse's financial interest in cases before the court.

In the second set of articles, Ocasio-Cortez accuses Alito of:

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.

She noted that she and Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., hosted an oversight roundtable on June 11 to discuss corruption on the court, and said that on June 20, they wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts to ask what immediate action "he would take to restore public trust in the Court amidst severe ethical conflicts."

The lawmakers also on June 25 introduced legislation,  the High Court Gift Ban Act, which prohibits Supreme Court justices from receiving gifts valued at more than $50, bringing them in line with lawmakers and other federal officials.

Her action also comes after Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore., called on U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint a special counsel to investigate whether Thomas broke federal ethics and tax laws.