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John Oliver started a new season of Last Week Tonight on HBO with a million-dollar offer to Clarence Thomas.
On the Season 11 premiere of the late-night talk show, Oliver discussed the U.S. Supreme Court, saying that it’s reached “a breaking point,” citing several ways it could be fixed like “enforceable ethics codes, to term limits, to potentially expanding the court.”
Oliver had previously noted that Thomas had not recused himself from taking on cases where there was a conflict of interest or where he may have received gifts from special interest groups.
“If we’re going to keep the bar of accountability this low, perhaps it’s time to exploit that low bar the same way billionaires have successfully done for decades,” Oliver said.
He continued, “Clarance 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.”
Oliver proceeded to make Thomas “a special offer,” 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.”
The comedian pulled out a contract and assured viewers that he was not joking about the offer to Thomas.
“If you watch our show, you know jokes aren’t really our thing,” Oliver added. “This is real. A million dollars a year until you or I die.”
Oliver noted that he has talked to legal experts who assured him that he wasn’t breaking any laws and said “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.”
“This offer is not forever,” Oliver continued. “You have exactly 30 days from midnight tonight to make your resignation effective.”
