Democrats and leftists unquestionably despise Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and want nothing less than his immediate removal from the bench, whether through an unprecedented impeachment proceeding or via his resignation or retirement.
HBO host John Oliver sought to make those dreams of the ideological left a reality on Sunday with an offer of $1 million annually, plus a brand new $2.4 million RV, if Thomas agrees to step down from the Supreme Court within the next 30 days, Fox News reported.
Oliver, who insisted the offer was legitimate and, per HBO's attorneys, legal, extended the apparent bribe in response to the series of liberal media claims over the past year about Thomas allegedly accepting but not disclosing a plethora of valuable gifts -- including vacations and an unpaid loan to purchase an RV -- from some of his wealthy friends.
It was near the end of the premiere episode of the latest season of Oliver's HBO show on Sunday when the host, according to Newsweek, said, "Clarence Thomas is arguably the most consequential justice on the court right now and he's never really seemed to like the job. He said, 'It's not worth doing for the grief.' So what if he can keep the luxury perks he clearly enjoys without having to endure all of that grief."
He proceeded to share his "special offer" for the conservative jurist, which included "one million dollars a year for the rest of your life if you simply agree to leave the Supreme Court immediately and never come back."
Oliver revealed a real contract he'd had drawn up, insisted that legal experts had assured him the offer wasn't illegal, and declared, "HBO is not putting up the money for this. I am personally on the hook. You can make me really regret this. I could be doing standup tours to pay for your retirement for years."
Mediaite was the first to report on Oliver's stunning $1 million per year offer for Justice Thomas to immediately resign and noted that the HBO host said of the conservative justice, "Lot on your plate right now. From stripping away women’s rights to hearing January 6th cases you definitely shouldn’t be hearing, to potentially helping roll back decades of federal regulations."
"And you deserve a break, you know, away from the meanness of Washington so you can be surrounded by the regular folks whose lives you made demonstrably worse for decades," he continued. "Now, the good news is, I think we can help you with that because since your favorite mode of travel might be in need of an upgrade, we are excited to offer you this brand new top-of-the-line Prevost Marathon motor coach!"
Oliver showed off the massive and fully loaded RV worth an estimated $2.4 million that was included as a sweetener in the proposal and made snide comments about Thomas and how his wealthy friends might react if they were unable to allegedly offer similar bribes if he were no longer seated on the Supreme Court.
John Oliver offered Justice Clarence Thomas $1 Million a year and a $2.4 million motor-coach to stepdown from the Supreme Court. I mean it sounds like a mockery, but no more than Thomas already mocks judicial decorum, impartiality & legitimacy.@LastWeekTonight @iamjohnoliver pic.twitter.com/kokDtQ7GYr
— Doug Winfield 🪩 (@d2k) February 19, 2024
"So that’s the offer. $1 million a year, Clarence. And a brand new condo on wheels. And all you have to do to return is sign the contract and get the f--k off the Supreme Court," the host concluded with a parting shot at Thomas and his wife, conservative activist Ginny Thomas. "Talk it over with your totally best friend in the whole world. Because the clock starts now."
"Thirty days, Clarence. Let’s do this," Oliver added, according to Fox News. "Your move, Clarence. Your f--king move."
The Daily Wire noted that while there was some fretting online about the potential illegality of Oliver's apparent "bribe" offer for Justice Thomas, one of the jurist's allies, Carrie Severino of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, responded with humor by sharing a video clip from a few years ago of the justice eliciting hearty laughter with a joke about the liberal media and the incessant demands for him to resign or be removed from the court.
"One of the things I’d say in response to the media when they talk about, especially early on, about the way I did my job, I said, ‘I will absolutely leave the court when I do my job as poorly as you do yours — and that was meant as a compliment, really," Thomas said as he laughed heartily and added, "It really is getting to be mean."
