Staff Reports
Calls from Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups for Justice Samuel Alito to recuse himself from key cases over alleged ethics violations are viewed as a "coordinated effort" to undermine the Supreme Court, according to experts. They assert that these attacks on conservative justices have become more systematic over the years. The recent pressure on Alito follows reports that an “An Appeal to Heaven” flag, a historic Revolutionary War symbol, was flown at his beach house. Democrats argue that this flag was also prominently displayed during the January 6 Capitol riot.
In the aftermath of the flag controversy, congressional Democrats and activist groups have intensified their demands for Alito’s recusal. Despite resistance from legal experts and conservative commentators, these groups are focusing on raising ethical concerns about Republican-appointed justices.
Justice Alito recusal calls are a ‘coordinated’ left-wing campaign: ‘Like clockwork’https://t.co/5kUhT77wUC
— Conservative War Machine (@WarMachineRR) May 25, 2024
Mark Paoletta, former general counsel for the Trump administration's Office of Management and Budget and a close associate of Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife, Ginni Thomas, highlighted the ongoing nature of these attacks. He pointed to March 2020 when Senator Schumer publicly threatened Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh over their potential votes on an abortion case, as an example of this persistent strategy.
According to Paoletta, the immediate goal of these left-wing groups is to intimidate conservative justices into recusing themselves or moderating their opinions. The broader, long-term objective, he argues, is to delegitimize the Supreme Court and lay the groundwork for court-packing.
Democratic Senators Dick Durbin and Sheldon Whitehouse, who have oversight roles related to the federal courts, have requested a meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts to address what they describe as an “ethics crisis” at the Supreme Court. They have renewed calls for binding ethics rules for the high court and specifically urged Alito to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and January 6.
Legal experts have told the Washington Examiner that there is no provision in the Code of Conduct for United States Judges or the Supreme Court's ethics guidelines that necessitates Alito’s recusal. Jonathan Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University, argued that the display of the flag does not mandate recusal from election-related cases.
Historical precedents also show that Supreme Court justices with personal biases did not recuse themselves from relevant cases. For instance, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a known critic of Donald Trump, did not recuse herself from a 2020 case involving him.
Senate Republicans have largely dismissed the controversy surrounding Alito. Senator Mike Lee has argued that the flag issue does not justify Alito's recusal and sees the demand as part of a broader Democratic strategy to influence the Supreme Court’s decisions.
Experts and Republican lawmakers contend that the pressure on Justice Alito is less about genuine ethical concerns and more about the left's desire to exert control over the Supreme Court.
