How Alito has made the Supreme Court’s battered reputation even worse: analysis

31 May 2024

Many critics of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito became even more critical when the news broke that he is refusing to recuse himself from cases relevant to the January 6, 2021 insurrection and former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

Alito's detractors have been lambasting him in response to the New York Times' reporting on two flags hanging outside properties he owns: an upside-down flag outside his home in Alexandria, Virginia on January 19, 2021, and an "Appeal to Heaven" flag outside a New Jersey Shore beach house during the Summer of 2023. Both flags have been adopted as symbols of the "Stop the Steal" movement by MAGA Republicans, and the "Appeal to Heaven" flag is also being used to symbolize far-right Christian nationalism.

The Guardian's Ed Pilkington, in a blistering op-ed published on May 31, argues that by "refusing to recuse himself from" the case Trump v. the United States, he is making the High Court's already-battered reputation even worse.

"Both cases — Trump v. U.S., and a case considering whether January 6 rioters can be prosecuted for obstruction — will determine the degree to which Trump can be held criminally liable for his role on January 6," Pilkington explains. "As such, they could influence the outcome of November's presidential election, and with it, determine the identity of the most powerful person on Earth. With stakes as high as these, the case Alito makes against recusing himself in the January 6 cases sounds risibly thin…. This is not the first time Alito has been mired in ethical mud."

The Guardian journalist adds, "A year ago, ProPublica revealed that he had enjoyed an undisclosed ride in the private jet of the hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer, who spirited him to Alaska for a luxury fishing vacation."

Pilkington goes to note that the High Court's "six-to-three hard-right supermajority" has been surrounded by controversy, from the overturning of Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in 2022 to efforts by far-right GOP activist Ginni Thomas (Justice Clarence Thomas' wife) to help Trump overturn 2020's presidential election results.

"Yet the justices show no willingness to accept that, as their power grows, so must their accountability," Pilkington laments. "The justices had to be dragged kicking and screaming before they adopted the new ethics code, and even then, it remains entirely self-policing. This time though, it may not be so easy to ride out the storm."

Read El Pilkington's full op-ed for The Guardian at this link.

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