Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) claimed without evidence on Sunday that some U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade “lied” under oath during their confirmation hearings, which she said is “an impeachable offense.”
Ocasio-Cortez made the remarks during an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press” with host Chuck Todd, who brought up how Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that the justices had testified “under oath.”
“They lied,” Ocasio-Cortez claimed. “If we allow Supreme Court nominees to lie under, under oath and secure lifetime appointments to the highest court of the land and then issue, issue without basis — if you read these opinions — issue without basis, rulings that deeply undermine the human and civil rights of the majority of Americans, we must see that through. There must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and a hostile takeover of our democratic institutions. To allow that to stand is to allow it to happen. 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 confirmations and seats on the Supreme Court. This is what we’re saying.”
When Todd asked if she thought the situation was “an impeachable offense,” Ocasio-Cortez responded, “I believe so.”
“I believe so,” she claimed. “I believe lying under oath is an impeachable offense.”
WATCH:
EXCLUSIVE: If Supreme Court nominees lied under oath, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says impeachment “should be very seriously considered.”@repaoc: "There must be consequences for such a deeply destabilizing action and hostile takeover of our Democratic institutions." pic.twitter.com/EAHXZcPrzg
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 26, 2022
Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks come after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in Dobbs v.s. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on Friday which followed the early May leak of a draft opinion indicating which way the justices would rule, The Daily Wire reported. That leak prompted protests across the nation, particularly in Washington, D.C., as well as dozens of attacks and vandalism of pro-life organizations, centers, and churches.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote that Roe and a subsequent case, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which upheld Roe, both must be overturned, and the right to allow, deny, or restrict the right to an abortion must reside with states.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences. And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division,” Alito wrote in his majority opinion, which was strikingly similar to the earlier leaked draft. “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
Mary Margaret Olohan contributed to this report.