Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to “resign” or face “impeachment” for what she described as a pattern of ethics violations “involving his wife.”
“Clarence Thomas should resign,” the New York Democratic representative tweeted on Tuesday. “If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.”
Ocasio-Cortez echoed what numerous other Democratic colleagues, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, have said in regards to the most senior justice’s spouse Ginni Thomas. The justice’s wife is a longtime conservative advocate and most recently had a trove of messages revealed by the House Jan. 6 Committee investigating the riot on the U.S. Capitol. The messages depicted Thomas encouraging former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to keep fighting in an effort to overturn the 2020 election results in favor of the former president.
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Clarence Thomas should resign.
If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 29, 2022
The progressive Democrat also questioned Clarence Thomas’s refusal to recuse himself from several election-related cases before the Supreme Court, including at least 10 rulings concerning the 2020 presidential election.
Thomas has recently come under high levels of scrutiny over a case in January when he was the only justice who dissented in an 8-1 ruling that paved the way for the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot to obtain Trump-era White House records.
Now, the Jan. 6 Committee is in the process of deciding whether to call Ginni Thomas in for a voluntary deposition to learn more about her support for controversial lawyer Sidney Powell‘s bid to challenge the 2020 election result.
“I think what we know, if investigated further, could absolutely be grounds for potential impeachment. I absolutely do believe that,” Ocasio-Cortez told Axios on Monday.
Last week, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy pushed back on calls for Clarence Thomas to recuse himself from specific cases over his wife’s political advocacy.
“It’s his decision based upon law. If you spent any time studying the Supreme Court justice, he’s one who studies correctly,” McCarthy said. “If he sees it’s not upholding the Constitution he’ll rule against it. If it’s the Constitution, that’s what his job should be. It’s him.”
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Other Democrats have simply called on the high court justice to recuse himself from cases involving Jan. 6 or future cases involving the 2024 election, under the assumption that Trump could run again, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said last week.
Unlike lower-court federal judges, Supreme Court justices are not bound by the same code of conduct and are allowed to decide whether recusal is the appropriate choice in cases that might raise ethical concerns.
