AOC Calls For Justice Clarence Thomas To Resign Or Be Impeached Over Ethics

Several House Democrats are calling on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to resign after texts between his wife Ginni Thomas and former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows surfaced in the House select committee’s probe of the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

In the text exchanges from the days and weeks following the 2020 election, Ginni Thomas appeared to urge Meadows to do what he could to overturn the election results.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) argued that if Thomas did not resign, there may be grounds to impeach him.

“Clarence Thomas should resign,” she wrote in a tweet. “If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated.”

Clarence Thomas should resign.

If not, his failure to disclose income from right-wing organizations, recuse himself from matters involving his wife, and his vote to block the Jan 6th commission from key information must be investigated and could serve as grounds for impeachment.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 29, 2022

Other Democratic House members didn’t go so far as to mention resignation or impeachment but suggested that the justice recuse himself from cases having to do with the attack on the Capitol and the 2020 election.

“The wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice tried to get the President’s Chief of Staff to overturn the results of a legitimate election,” California Rep. Barbara Lee (D) wrote.

“At the bare minimum, Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from any cases involving January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election,” she added.

The wife of a sitting Supreme Court justice tried to get the President’s Chief of Staff to overturn the results of a legitimate election.

At the bare minimum, Clarence Thomas must recuse himself from any cases involving January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) March 30, 2022

The sentiment extended beyond the House, too, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- New York) saying, “I do think he should recuse himself … I think there should be some kind of code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.”

Schumer on Clarence Thomas: “I do think he should recuse himself…I think there should be some kind of code of ethics for Supreme Court justices.”

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 29, 2022

The majority of progressive House members said they thought it was best to wait for more information to come out from the Jan. 6 committee’s investigation.