OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez joined a chorus of other left-wing Democrats and pundits in calling for Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to either resign his post or face impeachment proceedings.
“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.”
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 Washington Examiner added:
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.
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.
The Reagan appointee has come under fire from the left regarding a January case when he was the lone justice dissenting in an 8-1 ruling that put the House Select Committee on Jan. 6, which is investigating the Capitol riot, on course to obtain records from the Trump White House.
And now, the committee is deliberating whether to call Ginni Thomas in to provide voluntary testimony in order to discover more about her support for attorney Sidney Powell’s efforts challenging 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 (R-Calif.) rejected calls for Thomas to recuse himself from certain cases because of 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.”
Constitutional law expert and Georgetown law professor Jonathan Turley disagrees with the left’s demands that Thomas be impeached for his actions on the bench regarding Jan. 6 cases, blasting them for “raging impeachment addiction,” among other things.
“The calls for Justice Thomas’ impeachment are entirely disconnected from any constitutional or logical foundation. Rather, the Thomas controversy shows how the impeachment mantra has become a raging impeachment addiction,” Turley tweeted this week. “No, Justice Thomas did not commit an impeachable offense.”
He added:
It is often said that ‘if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.’ In modern American politics, it often seems like the only tool is impeachment and every controversy instantly becomes a high crime and misdemeanor. Donald Trump was impeached not once but twice. Not long after Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, Democrats like then-Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren demanded his impeachment. Others demanded the impeachment of Attorney General Bill Barr and cabinet members.
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is only the latest addition to that ever-lengthening list. In reality, the calls for his impeachment are entirely disconnected from any constitutional or logical foundation. Rather, the Thomas controversy shows how the impeachment mantra has become a raging impeachment addiction.
