Samuel Chase: The one Supreme Court justice who has ever been impeached

Calls to impeach Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh came from at least four Democratic presidential candidates over the weekend as the New York Times revealed a third alleged incident of sexual misconduct when Kavanaugh was a young man.

If the House voted for an impeachment trial, Kavanaugh wouldn’t have a lot of company in the ranks of justices past. Only one other justice has ever been impeached, and it was more than 200 years ago.

Samuel Chase was a frequent subject of the rumor mill for his entire life. As a young lawyer in Annapolis, Md., in the 1760s, he was expelled from a debating society for “extremely irregular and indecent” behavior. He was also an early critic of the Stamp Act and headed up Anne Arundel County’s chapter of the Sons of Liberty.

His height and broadness added to his gruff and intimidating personality. He also had a reddish-brown complexion, earning him the nickname “Old Bacon Face” — which some might consider its own impeachable offense.