Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) introduced articles of impeachment against conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito on Wednesday.
The New York lawmaker alleged there was a “corruption crisis” at the Supreme Court, citing the court’s refusal to recuse itself from matters that concern it and its “failure to disclose” millions of dollars in gifts.
The impeachment resolution includes one article about failure to disclose financial income, gifts, payments and other information for each judge.
As with impeaching a president, impeaching a Supreme Court justice must meet a very high standard.
Here’s how it works:
How do you impeach a Supreme Court justice?
Congress is the only body with the power to remove Article III judges, i.e. Supreme Court justices.
To do so, House members would need to introduce articles of impeachment, as Ocasio-Cortez has done.
Articles of impeachment can be approved by a simple majority of the House of Representatives.
Given the Republican majority in the House, this is likely to be a difficult hurdle for articles of impeachment.
If the impeachment vote is successful, the trial will begin.
If the House votes to impeach Thomas or Alito, a trial would take place in the Senate.
The Senate, then controlled by Democrats, held two impeachment trials against former President Trump.
As in those trials, a two-thirds majority vote would be needed to convict, a very difficult hurdle even if articles of impeachment were to be introduced in the Senate.
To get a two-thirds majority, 67 of the 100 senators would need to vote in favor of impeachment.
Has a Supreme Court Justice ever been impeached?
Only one Supreme Court justice has ever been impeached.
In 1805, Judge Samuel Chase was impeached by the House of Representatives.
The House accused Chase of refusing to dismiss biased jurors and excluding or limiting defense witnesses in political cases.
Nearly a year later, the Senate voted to acquit Chase on all charges. Chase remained on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811.
