Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) filed articles of impeachment Wednesday against conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
The New York lawmaker cited his refusal to recuse himself from matters to which they are connected and his “non-disclosure” of millions of dollars in gifts, arguing that there is a “corruption crisis” at the Supreme Court.
The impeachment resolution includes an article against each judge related to failure to disclose financial income, gifts, reimbursements and other information.
Impeaching a Supreme Court justice, like impeaching a president, requires very high standards to be met.
See how it would work.
How do you impeach a Supreme Court justice?
Congress is the only body that has the authority to remove an Article III judge, who is a Supreme Court justice.
To do this, a member of the House must present articles of impeachment, as Ocasio-Cortez did.
A simple majority of the House can approve articles of impeachment.
This is likely to be a difficult hurdle for articles of impeachment, given the Republican Party’s majority in the House.
A successful impeachment vote would trigger a trial
If the House voted to impeach Thomas or Alito, a Senate trial would begin.
The Senate, then under a Democratic majority, twice held impeachment trials for former President Trump.
As in those trials, a two-thirds majority would be needed to convict. This is a very difficult hurdle, even if the impeachment measure reaches the Senate.
A two-thirds vote would require 67 of 100 senators to vote in favor of impeachment.
Has a Supreme Court justice ever been impeached?
Only one Supreme Court justice has been impeached.
In 1805, Associate Justice Samuel Chase was impeached by the House.
The House accused Chase of refusing to dismiss biased jurors and of excluding and limiting defense witnesses in political cases.
Almost a year later, Seante votes to acquit Chase of all charges. He remained on the Supreme Court until his death in 1811.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
