Associate Justice Samuel Alito poses during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, April 23, 2021.
Erin Schaff | Pool | Reuters
The chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Friday urged Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from considering cases related to the 2020 election, including the question of former President Donald Trump‘s immunity from criminal prosecution, because of controversy over an upside-down U.S. flag that flew outside Alito’s home after the election.
Sen. Dick Durbin suggested that Alito was adding to ethical concerns about the court after The New York Times report on Thursday revealed that the flag was displayed in that manner outside his Virginia home.
“Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias,” said Durbin, the Illinois Democrat who heads the Judiciary Committee.
“Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President’s immunity in U.S. v. Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering,” Durbin said in a statement.
“The Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the Court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust.”
Alito told the Times his wife hung the flag upside-down after a confrontation with a neighbor after the election, which Trump has falsely claimed to have won.
Trump supporters who argued that he won the 2020 election displayed the flag in that manner during protests and rallies after the contest.
“I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Alito said in an emailed statement to The New York Times, which first reported the display of the flag at the Alitos’ house in Virginia on Thursday
“It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs,” Alito said.
The Supreme Court is expected to soon rule on Trump’s claim that he is immune from prosecution in a federal case in Washington, D.C., in which he is charged with crimes related to his attempt to undo President Joe Biden’s victory in 2020 over Trump.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.