Dear John,

You know the many ways Clarence Thomas has been compromised.

It’s not only the millions of dollars worth of undisclosed gifts he received over decades from billionaire and Nazi memorabilia collector Harlan Crow.

It’s also his failure to recuse himself from multiple high-impact cases in which his wife Ginny Thomas has lobbied for the hard-right position, whether it was handing the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush, voting against the Affordable Care Act, or supporting Trump’s bid to withhold documents from the January 6 committee.

Clarence Thomas has proven that he cannot be relied upon to uphold the impartial rule of law. His presence on the Supreme Court tarnishes the Court’s legitimacy and sets an unacceptable precedent for corruption without consequences.

Clarence Thomas must be held accountable for his actions while sitting on the nation’s highest Court. The Constitution provides just one method of holding Supreme Court Justices accountable, and that is impeachment.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has indicated her willingness to introduce articles of impeachment for Clarence Thomas, saying to The Lever podcast, “If no one’s going to introduce them, I would certainly be open to doing so and drafting them myself.” She needs to know that if she does, we will have her back.

So far, no one in Congress has submitted articles of impeachment for Justice Thomas, but it’s past time to move on this critical issue.

We need to let Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other lawmakers know that there is a groundswell of support for them to take this up and hold our Supreme Court justices to an acceptable ethical standard.

If Congress fails to hold Justice Thomas accountable, with no investigation and no consequences for potentially violating long-standing federal ethics laws, then there is nothing to stop any Supreme Court Justice from doing it again in the future. Justice Thomas’ actions could create a precedent effectively legalizing unlimited, unreported gifts.

This is not how a healthy democracy works.

We need to do whatever we can to push Congress to hold Justice Thomas accountable. Please add your name to let AOC know that if she introduces articles of impeachment for Clarence Thomas in the House of Representatives, she’ll have a grassroots army backing her up.

Thank you for your support for the principled rule of law, and an uncompromised judiciary that serves justice for all.

Robert Reich
Inequality Media Civic Action