Supreme Court's John Roberts Faces Impeachment Resolution from Democrat
Source: Newsweek
Published May 22, 2026 at 02:54 PM EDT updated May 22, 2026 at 08:43 PM EDT
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is facing a new impeachment resolution put forward by a House Democrat.
The long-shot effort was introduced on Thursday by Representative Steve Cohen. The Tennessee Democrat announced last week that he would forgo his reelection bid after it became clear he was unlikely to win, as the state moved swiftly to gerrymander following a seismic Supreme Court opinion in late April that gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
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.
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/supreme-court-john-roberts-impeachment-steve-cohen-11984709
Link to Rep. Cohen PRESS RELEASE - Congressman Cohen Introduces Six Articles of Impeachment Against Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts
ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT (summaries from press release)
Article One The Chief Justice allowed the Court to become a partisan force, in breach of the constitutional guarantee of a republican form of government, due process, and equal protection of the laws, and the Chief Justices obligation to administer justice without respect to persons and faithfully and impartially discharge his duties. Time and time again, the Court has violated its own principles with a pattern of interfering in elections on behalf of Republican candidates.
For example, in the eight days following Callais, Tennessee dismantled its only majority-Black congressional district, splitting Memphis into three pieces. Alabama and South Carolina indicated they would follow suit. The Virginia Supreme Court struck down a voter-approved Democratic redistricting amendment, a case the Court declined to stay, within days. In contrast, the Court bypassed its rules to enable Louisiana to redraw its map in time for the 2026 elections. Similarly, on an expedited basis, the Supreme Court vacated lower court injunctions preventing Alabama from redistricting and allowed a new map to take effect eight days before the primary election. The asymmetrical application of the Purcell principle in a way that benefits Republicans demonstrates either the Chief Justices inability to administer the court impartially, or that his gross negligence would prevent him from faithfully discharging his duties.
The asymmetrical application of the Purcell principle in a way that benefits Republicans demonstrates either the Chief Justices inability to administer the court impartially, or that the Chief Justice is so negligent that he was unable to foresee that releasing the Callais decision days after Virginias referendum, and then subsequently picking and choosing which states will be redistricted with one line orders, would be perceived as political by the American people, and, in so doing, destroy their confidence in the neutrality and independence of the Court.
Article Two Under Chief Justice Roberts stewardship, the Court systematically preferred the powerful over the people, undermining the notions of popular sovereignty, representation, and democracy at the heart of a constitutional republic. Taken together, Chief Justice Roberts led the Court to license a system of political exclusion that could entrench minority rule at the expense of the will of the people a grave violation, with incalculable damage, to participatory democracy enshrined in our Constitution.
Article Three Chief Justice Roberts violated his oath to do equal right to the poor and the rich by endorsing a corrupt campaign finance system that privileges the wealthy at the expense of all other citizens.
Article Four Chief Justice Roberts violated the Constitution of the United States and his Judicial Oath by usurping Congresss legislative role and exempting the President of the United States from criminal liability for illegal conduct. In placing a single person above the law, Chief Justice Roberts breached his oath to administer justice without respect to persons.
Article Five: Chief Justice Robertss leadership of the Court is marked by the Courts arbitrary, unexplained, and inconsistent decisions that violate the Constitutional protections of the parties.
Article Six: Chief Justice Roberts violated his ethical and statutory obligations by failing to fully report assets on his financial disclosures and refusing to recuse himself from cases that presented perceptions of a conflict of interest. While on the bench adjudicating some of the most sensitive matters, Jane Sullivan Roberts, the Chief Justices spouse, was being paid millions of dollars to recruit attorneys by the very firms litigating before the Court. This conduct directly violates 28 U.S.C. § 455. More importantly, it violates the constitutional structure and the parties constitutional rights to an independent and impartial magistrate to adjudicate their claims.
Kid Berwyn
(25,128 posts)But
zero?
FTR: Im with Steve Cohen.
BComplex
(9,964 posts)No wonder so many people are disillusioned with the party and moving to independent status. This court is, with six weirdos, taking away rights that hundreds of ELECTED officials have passed into laws, and more legislation supporting those laws, for generations! These six individual, unelected "judges" have taken it upon themselves to destroy the constitution in every possible way. And only ONE democrat supports a new direction for getting rid of the head of the snake?
mopinko
(73,973 posts)its not gonna go anywhere, and it wd just allow it to appoint someone equally bad.
its rly important to say outloud just how corrupt this shit is.
no_hypocrisy
(55,422 posts)LymphocyteLover
(10,182 posts)meant Alito, not Scalia
70sEraVet
(5,635 posts)LymphocyteLover
(10,182 posts)still waking up
70sEraVet
(5,635 posts)I get those white guys mixed up all the time!
BumRushDaShow
(172,448 posts)(Scalia's name has been invoked a lot over the past few years)
DemocracyForever
(197 posts)This can never be forgotten.
LymphocyteLover
(10,182 posts)nuxvomica
(14,231 posts)That makes it ready-to-use at some future date and, more importantly, sends a message to Roberts he probably needs to watch what he does. The arguments may have no bite but they will have ears.
Martin68
(28,085 posts)70sEraVet
(5,635 posts)I used to live outside his district, and wished he were MY Representative. Now, I DO live in his district, and wish he were just the brave, outspoken Representative in the district next door!
Blues Heron
(9,040 posts)Baitball Blogger
(52,734 posts)Cheezoholic
(3,938 posts)He will get his little feelings hurt behind close doors because his goal always was to have his court be seen as one of the greatest in history when in fact it has turned into one of the most regressive ever. He's definitely the weak point in this SCOTUS so lets start formally jabbing there.
FakeNoose
(42,472 posts)
cloudbase
(6,321 posts)In reality, it's a no-shot effort.
Zackzzzz
(398 posts)"Thank you again. Thank you again. Won't forget it".
JT45242
(4,143 posts)The bribery and pay to play of the sinister 6 and the federalist society.
I would wager money that Hand maid was told that if she wanted the supreme Court she had to approve that first federal execution in 17 years in the spring of 2020.
Maybe just maybe there is a clerk or someone with a conscience who would testify on that quid pro quo.
Beer bong vanishing debts. Alito as well.
The sinister 6 are all on the take.
lees1975
(7,192 posts)I think civil suits are appropriate as well, they may also be long shots but it cost the justices to defend them and it keeps their name in the public eye in a negative way.
republianmushroom
(22,745 posts)tazcat
(312 posts)tavernier
(14,518 posts)I bet we could round up a few million sigs. Screw Congress. They cant sign anything since they spend all year sitting on their hands.
DemocracyForever
(197 posts)as a reward for his Bush/Florida 2000 election stealing efforts by the beneficiary of his efforts as in W.. Roberts was one of the Brooks Brothers rioters. There would be no Roberts court without the Rehnquist 5's unconstitutional appointment of W. This ugly truth must never be forgotten.
melm00se
(5,174 posts)If Roberts (or any SCOTUS justice) is impeached and removed, remember who gets to appoint a new one.
BumRushDaShow
(172,448 posts)then we can do what Turtle did - make them wait so that the next President can choose.
Quanto Magnus
(1,381 posts)allowing the VRA decision go through on bad information
Buddyzbuddy
(2,924 posts)With a dutiful Congress, it should never be the wrong time to do the right thing. But that's not the case, yet.
It's funny (concidental) that somebody here should mix Scalia's name with Alito's. I was celebrating my birthday in Vegas the day he died with his pillow and I thought it was the best gift. Little did I know it was only the beginning of the nightmare that would become our current Supreme Court. No matter what happens to McTurtle, he can't suffer enough in my opinion.
Anyway, back to our current situation, not only is there no chance of impeachment but the last person we want picking another 1-3 Justices is the Felonious rapist. Can you imagine another 40+ years of this crap?
No, instead we wait. If by some miracle we take both chambers the Democrats can cripple this Administration. Then with a newly elected Administration we take these articles of impeachment and take out at least 3 Justices while simultaneously reconstituting the Court along with new laws with actual accountability and prison sentences. Bribery is a crime not a contribution or free speech.
Don't get angry with the Democrats for not backing this play prematurely. Be angry for not fighting harder for Scalia's replacement. (Too late)
The move would motivate Republicans to fight harder leading up to November at a time they're currently sulking over the loser in office that's screwing everybody over.
Ssshh, don't wake up the flesh eating zombies. Tip toe.