As the controversies surrounding Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito intensified and the far-right jurist’s reputation as a biased ideologue deepened, dozens of congressional Democrats called on Alito to recuse himself from cases related to Donald Trump and the attack on the Capitol of January 6.
However, those calls were rooted in a questionable concept: the judge would assess his impartiality, his actions and his record and conclude that it would be a responsible move to let his colleagues hear these cases without him. (Given the size of the Supreme Court’s dominant conversational majority, he wouldn’t even have to worry that his refusal would affect the outcome.)
But Alito, who long seemed indifferent to his reputation, decided instead to call off Democratic calls. NBC News reported:
In separate letters to Democratic senators and House members, the Supreme Court conservative added that, as far as he is concerned, “a reasonable person who is not motivated by political or ideological considerations or a desire to alter the outcome of Supreme Court cases to influence” conclude that no refusal was justified in response to his latest controversies.
Alito also blamed his wife for the flag incidents. “My wife loves flying flags,” he wrote to lawmakers. “I am not.”
Of course, all this once again raises questions about the value of the court’s meager code of ethics. Embroiled in controversy, Alito assessed himself and declared matter-of-factly, “No, I’m fine.”
There was also a certain irony in the broader circumstances: As the judge puts it, his wife is an independent American citizen, and Alito respects her right to make her own decisions and take her own actions. This from the lawyer who wrote the ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade.
But I was also interested in the reactions to Alito’s conclusions.
Republicans in the House of Representatives and the Senate celebrated as Democrats in Congress again complained about Alito’s questionable judgment.
Trump, meanwhile, published a related item on his social media platform, praising Justice for showing “INTELLIGENCE, COURAGE and ‘COURAGE.’ … All American judges, justices and leaders should have such a GRIT.”
In other words, amid questions about Alito being too aligned with Trump and his allies, the justice was showered with praise from Trump and his allies.
For his part, Rep. Jamie Raskin, who taught constitutional law before becoming a leading congressman, wrote an interesting op-ed for The New York Times about the ongoing ordeal.
“The U.S. Department of Justice – including the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, an appointed U.S. Special Prosecutor, and the Solicitor General, all of whom were variously involved in the criminal prosecutions underlying these cases and opposed the constitutional and statutory claims – may ask the other seven justices to require Justices Alito and Thomas to recuse themselves not out of mercy, but as a matter of law,” the Maryland Democrat wrote.
Is the Ministry of Justice prepared to take such a step? Watch this space.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
