A petition demanding an inquiry into the impeachment of Justice Samuel Alito has gained nearly 32,000 signatures in just two weeks after a series of calls for hearings ahead of the summer break.
The petition states that the U.S. Supreme Court should have a “clear and enforceable code of ethics” for its justices. The petition referred to recent reports of gifts given to Justices Alito and Thomas. This petition comes after another one focused on Justice Thomas, which has received almost 1.3 million signatures.
The petition cites an article published in late June by ProPublica, an independent news outlet dedicated to exposing “abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust,” which featured a photo of Alito fishing with hedge fund executive Paul Singer in Alaska.
According to ProPublica, the two spent a night at a “luxury lodge” in 2008 and were flown there on a “private jet at Singer’s expense.” Alito acknowledged that he took the trip with Singer, but there was any wrongdoing on his part in a recent op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
However, the petition isn’t convinced, suggesting a Supreme Court Justice shouldn’t accept” lavish gifts in exchange for favors.”
The petition concludes that the Senate should “investigate Alito and all the corruption” and impeach the Justice if wrongdoing is discovered.
The petition comes amid the Supreme Court’s conservative majority facing backlash over the court’s ruling that abolishes race-based affirmative action in college admissions and another ruling allowing a web designer to refuse to create wedding websites for homosexual couples.
