AOC splits Internet as she rips into Supreme Court, Clarence Thomas for 'exacting agenda of billionaires'

WASHINGTON, DC: Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) delivered a scathing critique of the Supreme Court and specifically targeted Justice Clarence Thomas for what she labeled as "comical" corruption during a House Oversight Committee hearing this week.

Thomas was recently revealed to have received over $4 million in gifts throughout his career, including $2.4 million in the last two decades alone, according to watchdog group Fix The Court. This staggering amount far exceeds gifts received by all other judges combined, with former Justice Antonin Scalia coming in a distant second with $175,861 in gifts over the same period.

AOC exposes deep ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and right-wing billionaires

In her impassioned speech, Ocasio-Cortez linked Thomas’ extensive gifts to prominent right-wing billionaires such as Charles Koch, Paul Singer, and Harlan Crow, framing it as part of a broader corruption scandal plaguing the court. “The Supreme Court is currently facing a grave crisis of legitimacy, and it is a crisis of its own making,” began Ocasio-Cortez.

“About 50 years ago, a group of powerful, wealthy conservative operatives looked around and realized that they were losing. In 1964, the Civil Rights Act had passed prohibiting discrimination in the United States on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. In 1970, at a time when rivers were literally catching fire from pollution, the federal government created the Environmental Protection Agency, finally taking a measure of responsibility for the health and safety of working people and our climate, and confronting polluters and corporations in the process. And most alarmingly, to these men," she said.

"Three years later, in 1973, the Supreme Court decided Roe v Wade giving women reproductive freedom, enshrining a right to privacy and marking a major advancement for bodily rights and autonomy," AOC continued.

“These wealthy, conservative men knew that they could not win the argument on merits. So they hatched a plan to manufacture a structural assault on the American judicial system. In 1973, the same year as Roe v Wade, the Heritage Foundation was born. And with it, a decades-long scheme to push back on these ideals and cement a hierarchy that these men, the elite 1%, could remain on top to roll back our rights," she added.

AOC reveals Leonard Leo's role in judicial manipulation

Ocasio-Cortez also called out Leonard Leo, a key figure in orchestrating efforts to influence judicial nominations and Supreme Court decisions through vast financial resources from right-wing billionaires like oil and gas magnate Koch, hedge fund manager Paul Singer, and Nazi paraphernalia collector Harlan Crow, the son of the biggest private landlord in the United States.

"These billionaires hatched a plan to use massive floods of anonymous donations, political obfuscation and outright gifts and ethics violations to reshape the courts. And so far to this day, they have experienced success. Let’s be clear Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito are deeply subject to and are exacting the agenda of these billionaires, and they act like it. Just look at Clarence Thomas, whose corruption is almost comical," AOC claimed.

AOC highlights judicial ethics breaches and threats to democracy

Furthermore, she stated the disparity between the justices’ acceptance of lavish gifts and congressional ethics rules, highlighting instances where decisions appeared to align with the interests of their billionaire benefactors.

"After all, these justices clearly continue to agree to this bargain by continuing to accept and engage in this ring of influence and financial persuasion. This brings us to the crux of the matter and why we’re holding this hearing today. The Supreme Court, as it stands today, is delegitimizing itself through its conduct," she noted.

"Americans are losing fundamental rights in the process - reproductive health care, civil liberties, voting rights, the right to organize, [and] clean air and water. Because the court has been captured and corrupted by money and extremism. There is no one decision that determines the court’s legitimacy. Instead, it’s the entire strategy that led us to this point," the left-wing politician and activist asserted, per Mediaite.

"A group of anti-democratic billionaires with their own ideological and economic agenda has been working one of the three equal, co-equal branches of government. And let’s be clear, the Supreme Court is a co-equal branch of government. They do not reign supreme over Congress or the white House. This is a very core crisis of legitimacy, and it is a core crisis within the core of our multiracial democracy and of who we are as a country," AOC alleged.

"The responsibility for the erosion of the court not only lies in the court. It lies in Congress. And it’s not just what they do. But if we let it happen and we cannot allow this to happen, we must treat this moment like the emergency it is and use every tool in our democracy’s arsenal to fight back. The future of our democracy depends on it," Ocasio-Cortez concluded.

AOC's claims of Supreme Court corruption receive mixed reactions

An Internet user tweeted, "Omg...the Supreme Court."

Another added, "Not a fan of AOC but the Republican Supreme Court has indeed become corrupt."

"The coordinated attacks on Thomas and Altio by the media and democrats must mean a positive ruling for Trump and presidential immunity," read a tweet.

"And how much is the bartender worth now?" questioned a user.

"The audacity of him. No other government employee would ever use their office to benefit themselves," mocked a commenter.

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.