Trump Congratulates Alito For Rejecting Recusal Calls Amid Flag Flap

Donald Trump praised Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito for rejecting calls to recuse himselffrom two pending cases involving the former president or January 6 attack on the Capitol after the conservative justice faced criticism over flags his wife flew over their private residences that called into question judicial ethics.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said “congratulations” to Alito for “showing the INTELLIGENCE, COURAGE, and 'GUTS' to refuse stepping aside from making a decision on anything January 6th related.”

On Wednesday, Alito wrote a letter to members of Congress stating that the two separate incidents at his properties, which included flying an upside down flag in 2021 and a Revolutionary War-era “Appeal to Heaven” flag last year, “do not meet the conditions for recusal” described by the Supreme Court’s code of ethics. Alito said that his wife was responsible for flying flags, which critics say are associated with efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and Christian Nationalists.

The New York Times reported the two separate flag incidents.

Democratic Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Dick Durbin of Illinois last week wrote a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts questioning whether Alito could remain impartial in the upcoming cases and accusing him of engaging in political activity.

Durbin and Whitehouse called for Roberts to “immediately take appropriate steps to ensure that Justice Alito will recuse himself” and they requested that Roberts meet “as soon as possible” to “discuss additional steps to address the Supreme Court’s ethics crisis.”

Alito, who was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush, said in his Wednesday letter that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, was “greatly distressed” at the time she flew the upside down flag at their Alexandria, Virginia, house because of a “very nasty neighborhood dispute” that the justice claims did not involve him.

“My wife is fond of flying flags,” Alito stated. “I am not.” He went on to describe his wife displaying flags supporting sports teams, colleges, and state and local flags over the years.

But the controversy of the justice’s wife flying flags comes as the Supreme Court is set to decide on two cases involving the former president or his associates. In June, the Court is expected to weigh in on a case involving Trump’s claims of presidential immunity. That decision could impact whether or not Trump faces charges for his attempts to subvert the 2020 election. They are also expected to rule on an appeal brought forward by a Trump supporter who was prosecuted over his role in the Jan. 6 attack and is challenging obstruction charges, which could impact the federal charges against Jan. 6 rioters.

President Joe Biden and the White House have not weighed in on the Alito flag stories or his letter to members of Congress.

Last fall, the Supreme Court adopted a code of ethics, signed by all nine justices, after a series of revelations about political relationships with justices on the court called into question the ethical standards of the court.