What happened
Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, already facing criticism over an upside-down U.S. flag flown outside his Virginia home in January 2021, had another flag popular with Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol rioters displayed at his New Jersey beach house last summer, The New York Times said Wednesday. Alito said last week his wife had raised the inverted flag amid political arguments with neighbors and he "had no involvement whatsoever." He declined to comment on the "Appeal to Heaven" flag flown outside his beach house.
Who said what
The Revolutionary War–era white-and-evergreen "Appeal to Heaven" flag had fallen "into obscurity" until it was recently adopted by Christian nationalists supporting Donald Trump and a "religious strand of the 'Stop the Steal' campaign" to keep him in office after he lost, the Times said. "Judges are not supposed to give any impression of bias" or partisanship.
"At this point it is difficult to make any reasonable case for Alito's impartiality," Noah Bookbinder, the president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said to The Associated Press. At minimum, "he must not sit on cases about the 2020 election or the insurrection he appears to have supported."
What next?
Just as fellow conservative Justice Clarence Thomas "has ignored calls to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election" because his wife tried to help overturn the results, "there has been no indication Alito would step aside from the cases," the AP said. "Public trust in the Supreme Court, meanwhile, recently hit its lowest point in at least 50 years."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Why ‘anti-Islam’ bikers are guarding Gaza aid sitesIn The Spotlight Members of Infidels MC, who regard themselves as modern Crusaders, among private security guards at Gaza Humanitarian Foundation sites
-
China: Xi seeks to fill America’s voidFeature Trump’s tariffs are pushing nations eastward as Xi Jinping focuses on strengthening ties with global leaders
-
Rebrands: Bringing back the War DepartmentFeature Trump revives the Department of Defense’s former name
-
Supreme Court: Will it allow Trump’s tariffs?Feature Justices fast-track Trump’s appeal to see if his sweeping tariffs are unconstitutional
-
Nadine Menendez gets 4.5 years in bribery caseSpeed Read Menendez's husband was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison
-
Koreans detained in US Hyundai raid return homeSpeed Read Over 300 Koreans were detained at the plant last week
-
Brazil’s Bolsonaro sentenced to 27 years for coup attemptSpeed Read Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting to stay in power following his 2022 election loss
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purgeSpeed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead at 31Speed Read Kirk was holding a debate session at Utah Valley University
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ousterSpeed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud
-
Why are federal judges criticizing SCOTUS?Today's Big Question Supreme Court issues Trump case rulings 'with little explanation'
