Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., filed articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas on Wednesday, citing “unchecked corruption.”
Ocasio-Cortez had previously threatened to take this action, raising concerns about undisclosed gifts Thomas allegedly received from wealthy conservatives and recent controversies involving Alito’s personal politics and home.
“The unchecked corruption crisis on the Supreme Court has now spiraled into a constitutional crisis threatening American democracy writ large,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a statement. “Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito’s pattern of refusal to recuse themselves from consequential matters before the court, in which they have widely documented financial and personal entanglements, constitutes a grave threat to the rule of law and the integrity of our democracy. This is one of the clearest cases for which the tool of impeachment was designed.”
“Justice Thomas and Alito’s repeated failure over decades to disclose millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law,” she argued. “Their refusal to recuse themselves from specific matters and cases involving their benefactors and spouses represents a constitutional crisis. These failures alone would be grounds for removal in any lower court and would disqualify any nominee to the highest court from confirmation.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s filing includes three articles of impeachment against Thomas and two against Alito. The charges against Thomas focus on undisclosed gifts and his failure to recuse himself in cases involving his wife’s legal and financial interests. The charges against Alito include similar allegations of failing to disclose gifts and not recusing himself in cases where he had “a personal bias or prejudice concerning a party” before the court.
Ocasio-Cortez initially threatened to file these articles following the Supreme Court’s ruling in former President Trump’s immunity case. The ruling stated that a president has absolute immunity from prosecution for “actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority” and “presumptive immunity” for official acts in general, while noting there is no immunity for unofficial acts.
“The Supreme Court has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X following the decision. “Today’s ruling represents an assault on American democracy. It is up to Congress to defend our nation from this authoritarian capture. I intend to file articles of impeachment upon our return.”
The charges against Alito also accuse him of bias in favor of Trump and participants in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Critics argue that Alito’s display of an “appeal to heaven” flag, a symbol associated with American independence since before the Revolutionary War, at his home signifies his bias.