A Christian petition demanding that conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito be impeached has garnered thousands of signatures.
Thomas and Alito were hit with articles of impeachment by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, earlier this month. However, it's almost certain to fail in the Republican-controlled House.
Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes while opposing "Christian nationalism," posted a petition urging Congress members to co-sponsor the articles of impeachment on its website on Friday and it already has over 7,400 signatures.
The petition is in the form of a letter to a signatory's U.S. representative.
It reads: "As a member of the Christian organization Faithful America, I am deeply concerned by the corruption crisis on the U.S. Supreme Court, particularly the unreported gifts from Christian-nationalist activists and the refusal of justices connected to support of January 6 to recuse themselves from related cases.
"I urge you to co-sponsor newly introduced articles of impeachment against Justices Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito, so that we can begin to restore integrity to the high court and usher in a time when justice for all truly does prevail in our nation."
It is unclear which Christian-nationalist activists Faithful America is referring to.
Newsweek has reached out to Faithful America and the Supreme Court via online form for comment.
What Are in Thomas' Impeachment Articles?
Thomas' articles of impeachment cover a wide range of behavior, from reportedly taking gifts from his billionaire friend, Harlan Crow, to not recusing himself from cases in which his wife, Virginia, "Ginni" Thomas, "had an interest."
Thomas previously defended himself in a statement, arguing that the gifts from Crow were "not reportable," that he had sought out "guidance" before accepting them and that he "always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines."
Ginni Thomas told Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows in the wake of Trump's 2020 election loss that he should encourage the then-president not to concede to President-elect Joe Biden, according to text messages obtained by the House select committee tasked with investigating the Capitol riot that occurred on January 6, 2021. Ginni Thomas later told the committee that her husband "was completely unaware" of her text message exchange with Meadows "until this Committee leaked them to the press."
At a judicial conference in Alabama in early May, the justice said, "My wife and I, the last two or three years, just the nastiness and the lies," without explaining what instances he was referring to. "There's certainly been a lot of negativity in our lives, my wife and I, over the last few years, but we choose not to focus on it."
What Are in Alito's Impeachment Articles?
The allegations against Alito deal with a reportedly undisclosed luxury trip from a wealthy donor and his refusal to recuse himself from cases involving the attempted overturn of the 2020 election, citing the controversial upside-down American flag-flying incident outside his Alexandria, Virginia, home in the days before Biden was inaugurated and the "Appeal to Heaven" flag flown at his vacation home in New Jersey last summer.
A June 2023 report by news outlet ProPublica showed a photo of Alito on a fishing trip in Alaska with hedge fund manager Paul Singer. ProPublica claimed the two stayed at a luxury lodge in 2008, and that Alito had been flown there in a private jet at Singer's expense. Alito confirmed he took a trip with Singer, but denied any wrongdoing in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal. Singer was not specifically named in Alito's articles of impeachment.
Regarding the flag incidents, Alito said that it was his wife's decision to fly the flags and that he had nothing to do with it. He has addressed calls for his recusal and declined to step aside, writing in a letter in late May that the two flag incidents "do not meet the conditions for recusal," citing the Supreme Court's code of conduct.
Other Petitions Against Thomas and Alito
Faithful America's petition is not the first petition targeting Thomas and Alito. Two years ago, MoveOn, a progressive PAC, created a petition calling for Thomas to be impeached following reports that he did not disclose gifts from Crow. It has over 1.3 million signatures.
MoveOn also created a petition urging for Alito to be impeached for his reported gifts from Singer, which has garnered over 77,000 signatures. A more recent petition from two months ago called for Alito to be held accountable after the upside-down flag incident was reported. It has gotten over 149,000 signatures.
MoveOn Political Action spokesperson Britt Jacovich told Newsweek via email on Sunday morning, "Our country and our democracy deserve better than Justices Alito and Thomas. These partisan MAGA [Make America Great Again] actors have clear conflicts of interest and are overturning precedent and taking groundless cases to undermine years of precedent setting decisions to undermine abortion rights, climate regulations, and enrich and empower billionaires and profitable corporations.
"Congress needs to act to begin to restore any trust in the Supreme Court. Our best chance for any semblance of court reform is to elect Vice President Kamala Harris [the presumed Democratic presidential nominee] and vote out extremist MAGA Republicans from office this November so we can instill balance and legitimacy in the nation's highest court."
Biden's Reported Plans for the Court
A Washington Post report published earlier this month said Biden was planning to endorse major changes to the Supreme Court, such as establishing term limits for the justices and an enforceable ethics code, citing unnamed sources briefed on the plans. The president also is still deciding whether to support a constitutional amendment to eliminate broad immunity for presidents and other top officials.
On July 1, the Court ruled in a controversial 6-3 decision that former presidents have immunity for official acts conducted while in office, but not for unofficial acts. The ruling was related to an argument by Trump in the federal election interference case against him, in which he has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Update 7/28/24, 11:28 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Jacovich and additional information.
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Rachel Dobkin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on politics. Rachel joined Newsweek in ... Read more