Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said on May 29 that he will not recuse from cases involving the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol breach or former President Donald Trump.
Democrats, including top senators, recently urged Justice Alito to recuse after it was found an upside-down American flag flew outside his home and a historical “Appeal to Heaven” flag flew at his beach house.
Justice Alito, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, said the senators are mistaken.
The code says that a justice should recuse in a proceeding where his or her impartiality “might reasonably be questioned” or “where an unbiased and reasonable person who is aware of all relevant circumstances would doubt that the justice could fairly discharge his or her duties.”
The upside-down American flag does not introduce such doubt, Justice Alito said, because his wife was the one who put it up, not him.
He said later, “I am confident that a reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to affect the outcome of Supreme Court cases would conclude that the events recounted above do not meet the applicable standard for recusal.”
As for the “Appeal to Heaven” flag, which is also known as the Pine Tree Flag and has been flown in America since the 1700s, Justice Alito says that was also flown by his wife.
“I had no involvement in the decision to fly that flag,” the justice said.
When he saw the flag, he thought it was being flown to “express a religious and patriotic message” and did not know of any connection to a group that has promoted election fraud claims. Neither was Martha Ann Bomgardner Alito, his wife, the justice said.
“She did not fly it to associate herself with that or any other group, and the use of an old historic flag by a new group does not necessarily drain that flag of all other meanings,” Justice Alito said.
The justice sent a similar letter to members of the House of Representatives who had also called for his recusal.
“Even if you had ‘no involvement’ in the display yourself, the fact of such a political statement at your home creates, at minimum, the appearance of improper political bias,” the members said.
They pointed to a part of the code of conduct that says justices should “should refrain from political activity.”
“Instead of taking responsibility, he threw the blame at his wife,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), one of the members, said regarding Justice Alito’s refusal to recuse. “The Supreme Court is destroying its own credibility and legitimacy.”
Some Republicans have said that Justice Alito should not recuse over the flags.
“Justice Alito is absolutely right not to recuse himself. There is *nothing* that could warrant recusal here,” Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) said in a statement. “To conclude otherwise would be to reward bullying by unscrupulous partisans improperly attempting to influence the outcome of matters pending before the Supreme Court.”
A number of GOP members of Congress have displayed the flag outside their offices, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).
President Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday that Justice Alito was showing “intelligence, courage, and ‘guts.’”
The Supreme Court is currently considering multiple cases involving President Trump and Jan. 6.
