Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is calling for a House investigation into whether two Supreme Court justices who voted to overthrow Roe v. Wade should be impeached for lying about their views on the trial during their confirmation hearings. historic abortion lawsuit.
In a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat and progressive instigator, said she believes the judges, Neil Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh, were dishonest in discussing Roe during the hearings.
“They lied,” said Ms. Ocasio-Cortez during the interview, adding at another point that “there must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and hostile takeover of our democratic institutions.”
Raising the specter of impeachment, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez took advantage of comments from Senators Susan Collins, Republican from Maine, and Joe Manchin, Democrat from West Virginia, who both voted to confirm the judges.
The senators appeared to express doubts about this after the court’s ruling on Roe, saying in statements that the judges had indicated the case was settled during the confirmation process.
Neither justice gave clear answers about the ruling on Roe. Justice Kavanaugh declined to answer directly whether the decision was “the correct law.” He said at one point that the case was “an important Supreme Court precedent that has been reaffirmed many times”.
Justice Gorsuch followed a similar course. He declined to say how he would rule on Roe, noting that the decision was “a US Supreme Court precedent that had been reaffirmed.”
“If a judge starts tipping his or her hand about whether or not they like this or that precedent, that would send the wrong signal,” he added. “It would send a signal to the American people that the judge’s personal views have something to do with the judge’s work.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez said in the NBC interview that Ms Collins and Mr Manchin’s comments amounted to a “highly explosive charge” that justified an investigation by the House Judiciary Committee as a move toward impeachment.
“I believe that lying under oath is an offense that is punishable,” she said.
The House can impeach a federal judge by a simple majority vote. A two-thirds majority is required for a Senate conviction. Only one Supreme Court justice, Samuel Chase, has been impeached in US history. He was acquitted by the Senate.
