Georgetown University law professor Jonathan Turley took the left to task in a column over calls to impeach Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, criticizing them for having “raging impeachment addiction.”
The impeachment demands came in response to reports about text messages sent by his wife, Ginni Thomas, to then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows in which she implored him to fight for then-President Donald Trump while also claiming that the 2020 presidential election was replete with fraud.
Left-wing pundits and Democrats have argued that Thomas ought to have recused himself from issues related to the 2020 election and specifically, the probe into the Jan. 6 riot that took place on Capitol Hill, because of his wife’s alleged link to the incident.
To that point, Ginni Thomas has said that she went to Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally in Washington, D.C., that day, but left before he began speaking because she got cold.
“‘I have a question for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats: Why haven’t you impeached Clarence Thomas yet?’” MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan tweeted. “I make the case in a new op-ed, using historical precedent & basic political common sense, for why Dems should impeach Justice Thomas.”
"I have a question for Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats: Why haven’t you impeached Clarence Thomas yet?"
I make the case in a new op-ed, using historical precedent & basic political common sense, for why Dems should impeach Justice Thomas:
— Mehdi Hasan
The Conservative Brief :
In his column, Hasan lists a number of allegations against Ginni Thomas, then makes an assumption that because of her political alignments and activities, Justice Thomas is somehow guilty of ‘conflicts of interest’ in cases that came before the court involving groups she was associated with.
But nowhere in Hasan’s column does he implicate any real wrongdoing by Thomas, though he claims, falsely, that Trump was involved in “a coup attempt” and that Ginni Thomas was a part of it.
Turley, who teaches constitutional law and served as a witness in Trump’s first impeachment, pushed back hard on Hasan’s arguments, saying that the call to impeach Thomas, especially for alleged actions on the part of his wife, reflects a current culture that is more interested in political retribution rather than justice.
“The calls for Justice Thomas’ impeachment are entirely disconnected from any constitutional or logical foundation. Rather, the Thomas controversy shows how the impeachment mantra has become a raging impeachment addiction,” Turley tweeted.
The calls for Justice Thomas' impeachment are entirely disconnected from any constitutional or logical foundation. Rather, the Thomas controversy shows how the impeachment mantra has become a raging impeachment addiction.
— Jonathan Turley
“No, Justice Thomas did not commit an impeachable offense,” he wrote, adding:
It is often said that ‘if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.’ In modern American politics, it often seems like the only tool is impeachment and every controversy instantly becomes a high crime and misdemeanor. Donald Trump was impeached not once but twice. Not long after Justice Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed, Democrats like then-Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Elizabeth Warren demanded his impeachment. Others demanded the impeachment of Attorney General Bill Barr and cabinet members.
Associate Justice Clarence Thomas is only the latest addition to that ever-lengthening list. In reality, the calls for his impeachment are entirely disconnected from any constitutional or logical foundation. Rather, the Thomas controversy shows how the impeachment mantra has become a raging impeachment addiction.