John Oliver Offers Clarence Thomas $1 Million Per Year to Resign from the Court

HBO

Comedian and political commentator John Oliver made a public offer to conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas: resign from the court immediately in exchange for $1 million per year from Oliver himself. 

The offer was made at the end of the first episode of this season of Last Week Tonight, Oliver’s show on Max. 

For most of the episode, Oliver regaled his audience with the practically-nonexistent ethics regulations and the many improprieties of the modern Supreme Court, specifically targeting conservative justice Samuel Alito and, to a greater extent, Thomas. 

Thomas’s persistent failure to disclose lucrative gifts from conservative billionaires—ranging from luxurious trips to tuition paid to his surrogate son to the purchase of Thomas’s mother’s home—has triggered considerable backlash from ethicists and the public in general, with the court’s approval rating dropping into the high teens. 

Oliver also underscored the apparent futility of holding Thomas and his fellow justices accountable: the Supreme Court is not bound by enforceable ethics rules, though every other court in the nation is, and even though the rules about disclosure and recusal ostensibly apply to them as well.

Under enormous public pressure and the threat of enforceable rules imposed on them by Senate Democrats, the Supreme Court eventually adopted an anemic code of conduct late last year—though questions about enforcement linger. 

Oliver concluded that progressives should simply exploit these lax rules for their own purpose and publicly offered to personally pay Thomas $1 million per year if he resigns from the court immediately. He also offered to give Thomas an expensive new RV—knowing the justice is an enthusiast for RVs and motorhomes.

The amused comedian assured the audience that though it may not seem like it and should not be the case, his public offer is, in fact, entirely legal. 

Oliver has given Thomas 30 days to respond.