Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has rejected a request from top Senate Democrats to recuse himself from an upcoming case related to the 1/6 attacks.
Read: Samuel Alito Is The Insurrectionist Threat To Democracy On The Supreme Court
Alito wrote in part to Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI):
My wife loves flying the flag. I’m not. My wife is solely responsible for erecting flagpoles at our residence and vacation home, and has flown a variety of flags over the years. In addition to the American flag, she has flown other patriotic flags (including a favorite to thank veterans), college flags, flags supporting sports teams, state and local flags, national flags of family members’ ancestors, local flags we visited , seasonal flags, and
Religious flag.
When my wife flew the “Pray to Heaven” flag, I was unfamiliar with the flag. She may have mentioned that it dates back to the American Revolution, and T thought she was driving it to express a religious and patriotic message. I had no idea there was any connection between this historic flag and the Stop the Steal movement, and neither did my wife. She’s not flying it to associate herself with that group or any other group, and it’s not necessarily draining for a new group to use an old historical flag.
That flag has all the other meanings.
As I said in reference to other flag-raising incidents, my wife is a private citizen with independent “thinking.” She makes her own decisions and I respect her right to do so. Our vacation home was purchased with money she inherited from her parents and was named after her. It was a place away from Washington, where she should be able to relax.
A reasonable person not motivated by political or ideological considerations or wishing to influence the outcome of the Supreme Court case would conclude that the matter did not meet the applicable recusal standard. Therefore, it is my duty to deny your request to recuse myself.
Alito still blamed everything on his wife, while refusing to recuse himself from a case in which he was clearly conflicted. The arrogance in Justice Alito’s letter is a textbook example of why Supreme Court reform is urgently needed.
No one holding a position of power with a lifetime appointment should recuse themselves at their own discretion.
The conservative Supreme Court majority is clearly corrupt, and since they believe they are the law, the legislative branch will have to step in and regulate them.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a member of the White House press corps and a congressional reporter for PoliticusUSA. Jason holds a BA in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, particularly social reform movements.
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Member of Society of Professional Journalists and American Political Science Association