AOC: SCOTUS justices who lie about their positions at confirmation should be impeached
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Sunday that there should be “consequences” — including impeachment — for US Supreme Court justices who lie about their positions during Senate confirmation hearings.
The progressive lightning rod’s comments come amid allegations that Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch misled members of the Senate about their positions on Roe v. Wade during the judges’ confirmation hearings
“There must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and hostile takeover of our Democratic institutions,” said AOC (D-NY) on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
She was asked by host Chuck Todd if she considers that an impeachable offense.
“I believe so. I believe so. I believe lying under oath is an impeachable offense,” Ocasio-Cortez responded.
“And what makes it particularly dangerous is that it sends a blaring signal to all future nominees that they can now lie to duly elected members of the United States Senate in order to secure supreme-court nominee confirmations,” the firebrand Dem said.
The testimony by Gorsuch and Kavanaugh at their confirmation hearings was brought up by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WVa) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) after the Supreme Court’s order Friday to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion throughout the United States.
Both senators voted to confirm Kavanaugh and Gorsuch — Trump nominees whose rise to the Supreme Court helped establish its 6-3 conservative majority.
Both senators said they felt betrayed.
“This decision is inconsistent with what Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh said in their testimony and their meetings with me, where they both were insistent on the importance of supporting long-standing precedents that the country has relied upon,” Collins said in a statement.
Manchin said, “I trusted Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh when they testified under oath that they also believed Roe v. Wade was settled legal precedent, and I am alarmed they chose to reject the stability the ruling has provided for two generations of Americans.”
In his confirmation hearing, Gorsuch said Roe v. Wade is “a precedent of the US Supreme Court,” and Kavanaugh said the case was “settled as precedent.”
The two justices joined the majority opinion written by Justice Samuel Alito striking down Roe v. Wade.
