As observers reel from revelations about the extent of free travel with which Clarence Thomas has been gifted over the years by GOP megadonor Harlan Crow, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called this week for the Supreme Court Justice to be impeached.
This occasion is not the first juncture when Thomas has faced roughly similar scrutiny. Many were also concerned about his involvement in proceedings related to investigations of January 6 and related political developments, since details eventually revealed his own wife was among those trying to gin up action on the 2020 presidential election results, meaning Biden’s win. It’s generally required that travel provided to judges including Justices on the Supreme Court in place of a commercial trip like a ride on a regular airline be reported, and yet, Thomas mostly didn’t.
“This is beyond party or partisanship,” Ocasio-Cortez remarked. “This degree of corruption is shocking – almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached. Barring some dramatic change, this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights.” Among the concerns is that secretly providing trips and other perks to judges or Justices on the Supreme Court could help sway some relevant stance and affect U.S. judicial policy.
“We have never asked about a pending or lower court case, and Justice Thomas has never discussed one, and we have never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue,” Crow claimed. “More generally, I am unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that. These are gatherings of friends.” Is there reason to instantly take such an assertion as gospel, though? Besides the possibly building problems for the court’s independence from what Thomas and Crow were doing, on the legal side Thomas may have also broken the law.
“The exemption never applied to transportation, such as private jet flights, experts said, a fact that was made explicit in recently updated filing instructions for the judiciary,” according to ProPublica in discussion of disclosure requirements for more personal hospitality provided to federal judges like Thomas. Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t alone. Other Democratic members of the same legislative body called for Thomas to resign, and elsewhere, there is still support for expanding the size of the court to counter the influence of corrupting political machinations on the Right.
This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking – almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached.
Barring some dramatic change, this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights. https://t.co/t8fnGLVhbV
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) April 6, 2023
