NonilexMay 29, 2024

Justice #Alito tells #Congress he will NOT #recuse from #Jan6 related cases

Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr. announced Wed that he will not recuse himself from Jan. 6-related cases at #SCOTUS after Democratic lawmakers questioned whether he could be impartial following reports that an upside-down #flag flew at his home in the weeks after the… [ #insurrection].

#law #PartisanCourt #JudicialEthics #AppealToHeaven #ChristianNationalists
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/29/supreme-court-alito-recuse-flag-jan-6/

Justice Alito tells Congress he will not recuse from Jan. 6-related cases

Some Democrats asked whether Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. could be impartial after an upside-down flag flew at his home following the 2021 U.S. Capitol attack.

The Washington Post
Show threadNonilexMay 29, 2024

In a letter to #Democrat ldrs in the #House & #Senate, #Alito said that flag & a 2nd, #religious-themed flag were raised by his wife, w/o his knowledge, & the incidents do not meet the conditions for #recusal outlined in #SCOTUS’s code of conduct.

Alito disclosed for the 1st time that he was not aware of the #UpsideDownFlag until it was called to his attention & that his wife resisted taking it down.

#law #JudicialEthics #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ChristianNationalists #Jan6 #insurrection

Show threadNonilexMay 29, 2024

“As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused,” #Alito wrote in the letter to Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) & Dick Durbin (D-IL).

The #UpsideDownFlag … has become a symbol of the “Stop the Steal” movement that falsely claims the #2020election was stolen from #Trump.

#SCOTUS #law #JudicialEthics #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ChristianNationalists #Jan6 #insurrection

Show threadNonilexMay 29, 2024

Another flag carried by #Jan6 rioters, …embraced by #ChristianNationalists …, was flown outside Alito’s vacation home in NJ last summer. #Alito said in the letter that the 2nd flag was also raised by his
wife, #MarthaAnnAlito.

“My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not,” he wrote.

#SCOTUS #law #JudicialEthics #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #insurrection

Show threadNonilexMay 29, 2024

It’s like having this guy (pic) referee a match between Liverpool & Manchester United; do you think he’d call a fair game?

#SCOTUS #Alito #law #JudicialEthics #PartisanCourt #ActivistCourt #ChristianNationalists #Jan6 #insurrection

Show threadAlex Lubertozzi 🇺🇦May 29, 2024

@Nonilex I thought Jamie Raskin’s oped in the NYT was interesting, suggesting a way to force Alito and Thomas to recuse: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/opinion/alito-thomas-recuse-trump-jan-6.html

He makes a similar point about umpires.

Opinion | How to Force Justices Alito and Thomas to Recuse Themselves in the Jan. 6 Cases

Can they really decide for themselves whether they can be impartial?

The New York Times
Show threadGeeden_Of_ArdenMay 29, 2024
@alexlubertozzi @Nonilex
1. Thank you so much for the gift of this op-ed from a genuine constitutional scholar.💯 🤩
2. Kennedy's 3rd point – just the appearance fouls the environment, because no one knows to what degree the bias has crept in.
The refusal to recuse today is doubly worse on this point, because they KNOW it appears as bias, but are taking an analogous absolute immunity argument to trump's.
3. What are the odds the 4 conservatives would ever agree to this process?
Show threadPaul Wermer, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
@Bon_Jardin @alexlubertozzi @Nonilex there's a presumption the they actually care about legitimacy as opposed to power...
May 29, 2024 at 11:59pmWeb