(UnitedVoice.com) – The US Supreme Court finally issued a decision in Trump v. United States. The conservative majority on the court ruled that former President Donald Trump has some immunity from prosecution for “official acts,” but not personal ones. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) now wants to make the justices on the court pay.
After the court released its ruling, AOC announced she would be filing impeachment articles against at least one of the justices on the Supreme Court. In a statement, the congresswoman said the high court “has become consumed by a corruption crisis beyond its control.” She called the immunity ruling an “assault on American democracy” and stressed that it’s up to lawmakers to “defend our nation from this authoritarian capture.”
The prominent progressive lawmaker didn’t say which justice(s) she intended to go after with impeachment articles, but she has expressed a desire to kick Justice Clarence Thomas off of the bench in the past.
In 2023, after reports indicated that the justice took millions of dollars worth of gifts and trips from a billionaire and failed to disclose them, AOC appeared on CNN and said the House had the responsibility to take impeachment action. The congresswoman acknowledged that Republicans are in control of the House, so action against Thomas was unlikely. That has not changed. The House is still unlikely to impeach any of the conservative justices on the court.
Democrats have expressed outrage over the SCOTUS ruling. However, presidential immunity is not new. The justices also clarified that it only extends to official acts, including constitutional duties, and not any act that benefits presidents personally. Still, the outrage is loud.
Only one other Supreme Court justice has ever been impeached. That was Justice Samuel Chase in 1804. Congress claimed he refused to dismiss jurors who were biased and excluded defense witnesses from two politically sensitive cases. The Senate acquitted him at his trial and remained on the court until he died in 1811.
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