There were calls for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's impeachment last week after ProPublica accused him of having accepted gifts from conservative billionaire Harlan Crow. However, even some Democrats say it probably won't happen. 

Fox News reported last Friday that New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is among those who want to see Thomas impeached.

"Congress is out of session for the next week. And so that does give Democrats some time to strategize, and the way I feel about it is that, I do think articles need to be introduced," Ocasio-Cortez was quoted as saying.

The admission

Yet according to The Hill, Ocasio-Cortez admitted during a Sunday appearance on CNN's "State of the Union" that any effort to impeach Thomas would likely fail in the face of Republican opposition.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) calls for impeaching Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after he did not disclose luxury trips he took with a prominent GOP donor. @CNNSotu #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/OJtqRuBYjy

— CNN (@CNN) April 9, 2023

"I admit it is very difficult to see a path in a Republican Party that refuses to hold itself accountable and, in fact, breaches the law itself," the New York Democrat complained.

"For all of their talk of a crime wave and Democrats, Republicans talking about crime waves across the country, the crime wave is within the Republican Party," she asserted.

"I believe what we are seeing right now is a breaking of the law,” Ocasio-Cortez said, adding, "I know that there are calls for Chief Justice John Roberts to initiate an investigation. I do not think that this court any longer has the legitimacy."

Statement released

Fox News noted that for his part, Thomas issued a rare public statement in which he addressed the controversy and denied any wrongdoing.

"Harlan and Kathy Crow are among our dearest friends, and we have been friends for over twenty-five years," the Supreme Court justice declared.

"As friends do, we have joined them on a number of family trips during the more than quarter century we have known them," he explained.

"Early in my tenure at the Court, I sought guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary, and was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable," Thomas stressed.

"I have endeavored to follow that counsel throughout my tenure, and have always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," he said.

"These guidelines are now being changed, as the committee of the Judicial Conference responsible for financial disclosure for the entire federal judiciary just this past month announced new guidance," Thomas added before pledging that it is his "intent to follow this guidance in the future."