(RepublicanNews.org) – House Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is herself under investigation for failing to report gifts she allegedly received in connection with a Met Gala event, is offering to draft impeachment articles against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for similar allegations.
Thomas, a conservative, is facing accusations from Democrats that he accepted lavish and “in-kind” gifts from wealthy GOP donors. The news outlet ProPublica reported that Thomas and his wife stayed at the homes of billionaire real estate developer Harlan Crow, and rode on Crow’s private jet. The implication is that these were “gifts” that Thomas was obliged to report under court ethics rules.
Thomas disputes this. He says that Harlan Crow has been a close family friend for more than 25 years and that Thomas and his wife have socialized with Crow as close friends. The court ethics rules he has served under, Thomas said, do not consider personal hospitality among friends to constitute an improper “gift,” and he will abide by all ethics rules.
Ocasio-Cortez sees the situation very differently. On a recent podcast, she said that Thomas’ presence on the court constituted an “emergency” and a “crisis” and that she wants him removed.
Asked about whether she would personally draft articles of impeachment, Ocasio-Cortez replied that if no one else did (presumably Democrats) that she “would be open to doing so.”
Illinois Democrat Senator Dick Durbin sees the situation similarly. After the ProPublica report was published, Durbin said Thomas’ actions were “simply inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any public servant, let alone a Justice on the Supreme Court.”
He called the ProPublica report a “call to action”, and said that Supreme Court judges must be held to an “enforceable code of conduct” like all other federal judges.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez said that Congress’ week-long recess next week will give Democrats “some time to strategize.”
A House ethics panel is probing Ocasio-Cortez’s alleged acceptance of lavish gifts related to her 2021 appearance at the Met Gala.
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