AG Ellison says Justice Clarence Thomas "needs to be impeached," report says
MINNEAPOLIS -- Attorney General Keith Ellison is calling for term limits for Supreme Court justices, following an interview he gave to a Michigan news outlet in which he was reported to have said Justice Clarence Thomas "needs to be impeached."
According to the Michigan Chronicle, Ellison's comment was made during an interview with news organization's digital anchor Andre Ash.
"Clarence Thomas has decided that his best personal interest is siding with the powerful and the special interests irregardless to who they're going to hurt," Ellison said.
Ellison, who recently published a new book on police violence, issued the following statement to WCCO:
"We should have term limits for the Supreme Court. Every other federal judge has a mandatory retirement age, and every Minnesota judge has a mandatory retirement age and has to run for election every six years until then — but lifetime Supreme Court appointments are not working out for the American people. The length of a term could be 12 or 18 years, and justices could even be reappointed, but lifetime appointment with no accountability is a problem.
"We also need to have ethical rules for the Supreme Court. Every other federal and state judge has to abide by judicial ethics, but the Supreme Court is on an honor system — and from what we've learned about Harlan Crow and Clarence Thomas, it doesn't look like there's much honor there. Congress should adopt an ethics code for the Supreme Court from existing judicial rules for federal judges."
The Supreme Court, and Thomas specifically, are under scrutiny from congressional Democrats over ethical practices. The renewed focus on the ethical standards abided by the justices followed a string of reports from the news outlet ProPublica detailing Thomas' relationship with Republican megadonor Harlan Crow, a Texas real estate developer.
The news organization revealed that in the course of their 25-year friendship, Thomas has taken trips aboard Crow's private plane and yacht to far-flung spots, and vacationed at Crow's resort in the Adirondacks. Crow, according to ProPublica's findings, also purchased three properties in Georgia belonging to Thomas and his family in a deal worth $100,000, and paid two years of tuition at a pair of boarding schools for Thomas' grandnephew.
The arrangements were not listed in Thomas' previous financial disclosures.
Last month, Thomas received more time to submit a financial disclosure report for 2022. Thomas pledged to comply with new guidelines adopted in March by the Judicial Conference, the body that sets policy for the federal judiciary, clarifying what constitutes as "personal hospitality."