Yes, We CAN Impeach SCOTUS Justices!
But there are several caveats…
Issue #81: Government July 7, 2022 (approximately 4 minutes reading time)
Oh, the times in which we are living today! In addition to all of the other threats to our very democracy, we are now dealing with a radical right-wing Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) where five of the current justices were appointed by Republican presidents who did not win the popular vote.
Four of the current justices (Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barrett) previously stated that Roe v Wade was stare decisis or “settled law.” The three justices appointed by twice-impeached former president Donald Trump swore under oath at their Senate confirmation hearings that they believed not only in the precedent of stare decisis but also that they would not overturn the Federal protection of a woman’s right to choose her own reproductive options.
They lied.
Furthermore, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, who voted to overturn Roe, also stated in his written opinion that the other rights based on the “privacy” provisions of the 14th Amendment, such as marriage equality, sexual relations between LGBT individuals, and even contraception should be eliminated. Interestingly, Thomas has said nothing about revisiting the Loving v Virginia decision that ruled that interracial marriages were legal.
In a separate decision, Thomas falsely claimed that people, particularly health care workers, could refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 because the vaccines were developed using cell lines derived from aborted children.” None of the COVID-19 vaccines in the United States contain the cells of aborted fetuses.
What may be even worse for Thomas is that he has refused to recuse himself from cases around the January 6 insurrection. This despite the fact that his wife, Virginia “Ginnie” Thomas, had her hand in several incidents related to the spread of the “Big Lie” and the insurrection itself.
How SCOTUS Justices are impeached
First of all, a reminder that filing Articles of Impeachment against a government official is akin to a grand jury issuing an indictment for a civil or criminal offense. Being impeached is not the same as being removed from office.
Just as a “regular” indictment is sent to the District Attorney to conduct a trial, the Articles of Impeachment come from the House of Representatives (or from the state legislative equivalent) and are delivered to the Senate (or to the state legislative equivalent) to hold the actual trial and then have the vote for acquittal or removal of the impeached official. The Senate trial is usually officiated by the Chief Justice of the SCOTUS.
Articles of Impeachment are passed in the House by a majority vote, but the Senate must vote by a two-thirds margin to remove an impeached and tried government official.
Trump was impeached twice by the House of Representatives, but both times the Senate, under the leadership of then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, voted to acquit him of all charges.
Both of the other presidents to be impeached and tried by the Senate, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, were also acquitted. Andrew Johnson was saved from removal by one vote in the Senate.
Throughout American history, only 15 federal judges have been impeached and only 8 of those were convicted and removed by the Senate.
Associate Justice Samuel Chase was the only SCOTUS member to be impeached by the House in 1805, and he was acquitted by the Senate.
Is it possible to impeach FOUR SCOTUS Justices?
Yes, it is possible, but it would be very difficult, especially politically. We would have to have larger majorities in both Houses of Congress, but especially in the Senate, where 67 of 100 votes would be needed to convict and remove any or all of the justices.
Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution states that the grounds for impeachment and conviction of federal judges include “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Additionally, the Constitution states that federal judge “shall hold their offices during good behavior.”
Historically, however, impeachments have been limited to grave ethical or criminal misconduct such as perjury, fraud, or conflicts of interest. Of the fifteen federal judicial impeachments, the most common charges were making false statements, favoritism towards litigants of special appointees, intoxication on the bench, or abuse of the contempt power.
Impeachment proceedings against a judge just because of their rulings have been extremely rare, especially since the impeachment of Associate Justice Chase was thought to be politically motivated.
However, cases could realistically be made for all of the above-mentioned transgressions for all four of the judges in question: Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barrett.
It would take a very strong commitment by the House to pass and submit Articles of Impeachment against each justice, and then several Republican Senators would have to vote with the Democrats to reach the 67-member threshold to acquit and remove.
Summary
Just talking or writing about the multiple indiscretions of some of the current Associate Justices does little to hold them accountable.
Only by voting in large majorities in the House and Senate would it be possible to even entertain impeachment and removal proceedings against associate justices.
Except for Associate Justice Samuel Chase in 1805, there is very little precedent for impeaching members of the Supreme Court. But then again, the majority on this current court has shown that it no longer cares about precedent.
What do YOU think about the possibility of impeaching one or more Associate Justices?
The CFR has only 5000 members, yet they control over three-quarters of the nations wealth. The CFR runs the State Department and the CIA. The CFR has placed CFR members in every Presidential Administration since Woodrow Wilson. Today there are 500 unelected CFR members in government. They are the deep state. The move from administration to administration. Ones that leave are replaced with other CFR members. They work together to misinform and disinform the President to act in the best interest of the CFR not the best interest of the American People. At least five Presidents Eisenhower, Ford, Carter, Bush, and Clinton have been members of the CFR.
Natural law is the foundation of the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution and religion. We are being taught to forget both human nature and the God who created it. Four Council on Foreign Relations members have been Supreme Court justices: Sandra Day O’Conner, Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Neil Gorsuch. The Council on Foreign Relations are using the Supreme Court to interpret our rights to Life, Liberty and Happiness in fanciful and destructive ways. This results in insurmountable societal divisions used to divide and conquer the bewildered herd by setting us against each other and creating polarized politics.
Council on Foreign Relations CFR member Republican Justice Sandra Day O’Conner helped the CFR achieve this result in the Planned Parenthood vs Casey, SCOTUS 5-4 decision, in June of 1992. Sandra Day O’Conner and republican justices Anthony Kennedy, and David Souter provided decisive swing votes to uphold Roe Vs. Wade. Their decision upholding the right to abortion stated: “At the heart of liberty is the right to de-fine one’s own concept of existence, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life.”
This statement redefines liberty. It suggests there is no universal or absolute set of moral principles by which liberty is bound and we can do anything at all. How can our Creator have created us equal if we have the liberty to define ourselves as better than our neighbors? If O’Conner’s, Kennedy’s and Souter’s liberty were the liberty defended by the Declaration, we could never have formed a society at all.
CFR member Jimmy Carter admits the US is an Oligarchy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDsPWmioSHg
CFR member Bill Clinton’s wife Hillary tells us the CFR runs USA https://tinyurl.com/y9259ury