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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he would not recuse himself from upcoming cases involving January 6 rioters and Donald Trump amid controversy over his political ideology.
In a letter to more than 30 congressional members, Justice Alito said he will not recuse himself from participating in the cases Trump v US which will determine if Donald Trump has criminal immunity and Fischer v US which will decide if January 6 rioters were correctly charged with a specific crime.
His response comes after a New York Times report revealed Justice Alito and his wife flew an upside-down American flag at their Virginia home after the 2020 presidential election – a symbol used by election deniers. Another Washington Post article revealed the Alitos flew “An Appeal to Heaven” flag at their vacation home –a symbol carried on January 6.
Justice Alito blamed his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, for the incident and doubled down on that in his letter.
“My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not,” Justice Alito wrote. “She was solely responsible for having flagpoles put up at our residence and our vacation home and has flown a wide variety of flags over the years.”
Citing the non-binding Supreme Court code of ethics, Justice Alito argued he was not required to disqualify himself because “this event does not meet the applicable standard for recusal.”
Justice Alito assured those he had “nothing to do whatsoever” with the flags, was unaware the upside-down American flag was being flown and asked his wife to take it down but she “refused.”
“My wife is a private citizen, and she possesses the same First Amendment rights as every other American. She makes her own decisions, and I have always respected her right to do so,” he wrote.
Justice Alito claimed that his wife flew the flag while “greatly distressed” about a “nasty neighborhood dispute”. He said a man living down the street displayed a sign that directly “attacked” her and berated her in front of him.
“She has made many sacrifices to accommodate my service on the Supreme Court, including the insult of having to endure numerous, loud, obscene, and personally insulting protests in front of our home that continue to this day and now threaten to escalate,” Justice Alito wrote.
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