Tipsheet

Democrats Suffer Another Loss in Obsession Over Alito Recusal

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  May 30, 2024 4:45 PM

On Wednesday Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito informed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin and Democratic Senator Sheldon Whitehouse he has no plans to recuse himself from future cases after the pair demanded he do so over flags flown outside his vacation home. 

"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 this event does not meet the applicable standard for recusal. I am therefore duty-bound to reject your recusal request," Alito wrote in a letter to Durbin and Whitehouse. 

At least one of the flags in question, which have been deemed "controversial" and "pro-insurrection" over the past week, was flown outside San Francisco City Hall for 50 years. From the San Francisco Chronicle: 

Eighteen flags have billowed over the neat rows of plane trees in San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza, among them a yellow “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, a Texas Lone Star flag and — until Saturday — an “Appeal to Heaven” flag like the one that has pitched Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito into controversy due to its association with the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Appeal to Heaven flag, which bears a pine tree on a white background with its titular slogan, was among the original 18 raised by the city on June 14 — Flag Day — in 1964, each commemorating “a key moment in or symbol in American history,” according to a statement from the Recreation and Park Department, which manages the Pavilion of American Flags across from City Hall.

Now, Chief Justice John Roberts has rejected a request from Durbin and Whitehouse for a meeting on the "controversy."

"In regard to questions concerning any Justice's participation in pending cases, the Members of the Supreme Court recently reaffirmed the practice we have followed for 235 years pursuant to which individual Justices decide recusal issues. See Commentary to Code of Conduct for Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States at 11 (Nov. 13, 2023); Statement ‘on Ethics Principles and Practices at 2 (Apr. 25, 2023). It is my understanding that Justice Alito has sent you a letter addressing this subject," Roberts wrote in a letter Thursday. 

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"I must respectfully decline your request for a meeting. As noted in my letter to Chairman Durbin last April, apart from ceremonial events, only on rare occasions in our Nation's history has a sittingChief Justice met with legislators, even in a public setting (such as a Committee hearing) with members of both major political parties present," Roberts continued. "Separation of powers concerns and the importance of preserving judicial independence counsel against such appearances. Moreover, the format proposed—a meeting with leaders of only one party who have expressed an interest in matters currently pending before the Court — simply underscores that participating in such a meeting would be inadvisable."

In response to the rejection, Durbin is vowing to continue his harassment of the Supreme Court.