Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently indicated that she wants to impeach Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas over his luxury trips with a wealthy Republican donor. The liberal congresswoman stated that she would consider filing articles of impeachment against Thomas after he failed to report decades of outings with the billionaire donor.
AOC emphatically stated that Thomas’ conduct is an “emergency” and a “crisis” that has been ongoing. “I think this is an emergency. I think that this is a crisis,” she said. “I think we’ve had a crisis for some time on the Supreme Court.”
She noted that even if she isn’t the politician who spearheads the impeachment process, she would still support it. “If we decide strategically that the actual author of those articles and who introduces them may not be me. That’s fine. I will support impeachment,” she said.
However, AOC emphasized that she would take the initiative in introducing the articles of impeachment if no one else is willing to lead the effort. “But I just think that if no one’s going to introduce it, I would certainly be open to doing so,” she added.
Thomas addressed the attacks against him by liberals, stating that he wasn’t required to report them as gifts on disclosure forms. The 74-year-old conservative Supreme Court justice noted that he enjoyed the trips organized by Harlan Crow, a GOP donor. According to ProPublica, the trips could have cost Thomas and his wife over $500,000 if he were to pay for them.
“Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years. As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them,” Thomas said in an official Supreme Court statement.
Thomas continued, “Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”
As of March, recent changes in disclosure protocol require Supreme Court justices to disclose gifts and free stays at commercial properties, even if a third party covers the expense. Thomas stated that he will be following these rules moving forward.
However, AOC has been the subject of an ethics investigation for her own financial conduct. According to a report from the House Office of Congressional Ethics, the “Squad” member improperly received gifts when attending the 2021 Met Gala.
“But for the OCE opening this review, it appears that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez may not have paid for several thousands of dollars’ worth of goods and services provided to her,” ethics investigators wrote in the report. Ultimately, it was recommended that the House Ethics Committee subpoena Aurora James, the individual who designed AOC’s attire for the evening.
Despite AOC’s own alleged ethics violations, she has no issue sounding off on Clarence Thomas who reportedly did not violate any disclosure rules at the time of his trips with a close personal friend. “This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking — almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached,” she shared on X.
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