Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) has introduced articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, alleging “high crimes and misdemeanors by violating the Constitution, disregarding his statutory obligations as Chief Justice, and breaching his oaths of office.”

“I am saddened that the United States Supreme Court, once the most admired federal institution, has now become a political actor. While Chief Justice Roberts may claim otherwise, it has become clear that the Court now routinely favors partisanship, the rich over the poor, and the powerful over the vulnerable. This is a shift that undermines the Constitution of the United States, the very document the Court is required to defend, and demonstrates the Chief Justice’s unwillingness or inability to uphold his oath of office,” Cohen said in a press release.

“Due process, equal protection under the law, impartiality, and independence must be the core of our judicial system. The leap to partisanship, favoritism, arbitrary, inconsistent, and unexplained decisions, and a flagrant disregard for the statutory safeguards and ethical norms designed to enforce the Court’s impartiality leaves Congress with few options to restore dignity and accountability to the Court,” he continued.

“Roberts’ claim that the court is apolitical, then releasing the Callais ruling immediately after Virginia voters created more Democratic-leaning districts and in time for southern states like Tennessee to be redistricted, is simply false. If he didn’t foresee the ruling would be viewed by the public as partisan and harmful to the Court’s reputation, he’s naïve or negligent,” he added.

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Cohen also cited the Supreme Court’s 2024 decision granting President Donald Trump absolute immunity for actions committed while performing his “core duties” and presumptive immunity for the rest of his official actions.

“In placing a single person above the law, Chief Justice Roberts breached his oath to ‘administer justice without respect to persons,'” Cohen said in the impeachment articles.

A message to the public information officer for the Supreme Court was not returned before publication.

Supreme Court justices are appointed by the president and approved by the U.S. Senate. The only way they can be removed, except for impeachment, is if they resign, retire or die.

Only one Supreme Court Justice has been impeached. The U.S. House of Representatives impeached Samuel Chase in 1804, but he was acquitted after the U.S. Senate failed to get the necessary two-thirds vote to remove him from the bench, according to the Federal Judicial Center, the federal government’s research arm for the judicial branch.

Cohen’s long-shot bid to impeach Roberts follows the Tennessee Legislature redrawing the state’s congressional map, which eliminates the Democrat’s seat.

Cohen was the lone Democrat in Tennessee’s congressional delegation.

Cohen announced last week that he would not seek re-election.

“These districts were drawn to beat me. They were drawn to defeat me,” he said.

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Thus far, no co-sponsors have supported Cohen’s resolution. Given that Republicans narrowly control the House, the resolution is not expected to advance, but it signals the level of frustration many Democrats feel with the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court.

In a statement announcing the resolution, Cohen said that Roberts has led the court to be “understood as biased: with decisions designed to benefit Republicans at the expense of representative government, seemingly contradictory and unexplained orders, and a pattern of ethical breaches that raises questions about the role of the wealthy.”

“I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that while John Roberts remains Chief Justice, correcting this misconduct and ensuring the Justices and the Court itself comply with their legal obligations will be impossible,” the Democrat said.

In recent years, after the appointment of three justices during President Donald Trump’s first term, the court has shown a willingness to undo a series of controversial precedents tied to abortion access, voting rights, affirmative action and more. While many Republicans support these moves, most Democrats are critical and believe the court has become overtly partisan.

 

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