DNC Deputy Chair Says Impeachment Possible for Trump's New SCOTUS Pick
Heads could roll on the Supreme Court if the Democrats regain control of Congress, a high-ranking Minnesota Democrat said Monday.
Congressman Keith Ellison, who is also the deputy chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was speaking Monday at a Supreme Court Community Forum in Minneapolis when he was asked about the future if Democrats regain control of the legislative branch, Breitbart reported.
“Would the first matter of business to be to the separation of powers, is there any possibility that the legislative branch will remove a Supreme Court justice?” Ellison was asked
“You’d have to find some evidence of like, corruption, or something like that,” Ellison replied.
University of Minnesota Law School professor Jill Hasday then interjected.
“I personally, unless you could find evidence that someone was corrupt, or potentially adamantly lying I think it would be very inappropriate. And I don’t mean out of my mind, I just disagree with you, really,” Hasday said.
“I think that would be very inappropriate and a real threat to judicial independence. I think once someone is on the court, that’s basically it,” she said.
Ellison, however, wanted some wiggle room.
“I will say that there have been lower court judges who have been impeached and honestly there were some things that came out with Justice (Clarence) Thomas that I thought were very concerning to me as far as his impartiality. So I agree with Jill, it’s probably not going to happen, but it could theoretically happen,” he said.
Ellison’s comments come as the Senate gears up for a bruising confirmation battle over Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
As reported by Fox News, Democrats have been sounding alarms over Kavanaugh.
Sen. Kamala Harris of California has told women, “This will forever change your life.” Harris alluded to speculation that a conservative court could overturn the Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized abortion across the entire United States.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said that for students at the Florida high school that was the scene of a mass shooting, the nominee “is your worst nightmare.”
However, as noted by Fox News media analyst Howard Kurtz, Kavanaugh is likely to make it to the bench.
“In terms of raw politics, as interest groups on both sides prepare to spend millions and partisans ratchet up their rhetoric, Kavanaugh is overwhelmingly likely to be confirmed. Even if the three red-state Democrats stick with their party, Mitch McConnell can win simply by holding on to his 50 votes,” he wrote.
“In picking Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch, he is giving conservatives — and especially religious and evangelical voters — exactly what he promised, with a minimum of drama,” Kurtz wrote.
Last year, Ellison slammed Justice Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first appointment to the Supreme Court, as “illegitimate.”
“I said the other day that I thought that Neil Gorsuch was an illegitimate justice,” Ellison said in a speech. “I had a great progressive come up to me and say, ‘Oh don’t say that, that’s what they say.’ I said, ‘No, wait a minute. This guy escaped every rule that you’re supposed to go through to become a Supreme Court Justice.’ How is he legit? Do not repeat the other side’s talking point.”
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