If Justice Samuel Alito had any real scruples, he’d have immediately recused himself from any case related to January 6th long before he was outed as having two pro-coup flags flying at his homes, one while 2020 election cases were pending.
Instead, we got a load of excuses and wife-blaming in a response to Democratic senators’ request that he recuse himself from two January 6-related cases pending at the Supreme Court:
As I have stated publicly, I had nothing whatsoever to do with the flying of that flag. I was not even aware of the upside- down flag until it was called to my attention. As soon as I saw it, I asked my wife to take it down, but for several days, she refused.
My wife and I own our Virginia home jointly. She therefore has the legal right to use the property as she sees fit, and there were no additional steps that I could have taken to have the flag taken down more promptly.
…
My wife is a private citizen, and she possesses the same First Amendment rights as every other American. She makes her own decisions, and I have always respected her right to do so.
If Alito thinks he has no right or ability to control his wife’s biased flag-flying at his house, why does he think he has the right and ability to tell other women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies?
Maybe it’s because his whole “my neighbor made my wife do it” excuse seems to be a lie. Here’s his official explanation for the upside-down flag, signifying a disbelief that the 2020 presidential election was legit, flying at his Virginia home at a time when an election case was before the court.
My wife's reasons for flying the flag are not relevant for present purposes, but I note that she was greatly distressed at the time due, in large part, to a very nasty neighborhood dispute in which I had no involvement. A house on the street displayed a sign attacking her personally, and a man who was living in the house at the time trailed her all the way down the street and berated her in my presence using foul language, including what I regard as the vilest epithet that can be addressed to a woman.
As it happens, one day before Alito’s letter, The New York Times revealed that the neighbor altercation happened about a month after the upside down flag was taken down. Furthermore, the Baden family that supposedly caused Martha-Ann Alito such anguish that she just had to hoist a flag that flew in the face of SCOTUS ethics, says that Mrs. Alito started the conflict. The Times found corroboration for their version of events:
[O]n Feb. 15, the couple were pulling in trash bins when the Alitos, who seemed to be on a stroll, appeared. Mrs. Alito addressed the pair by name, used an expletive and called them “fascists,” the couple told The Times and said in texts at the time. Justice Alito remained silent, they added. The Alitos began to walk away.
That was when Emily Baden snapped, she said. She does not remember her precise words, but recalls something like this: How dare you behave this way. You’ve been harassing us, over signs. You represent the highest court in the land. Shame on you.
Ms. Baden said that she — not her partner, as Justice Alito recalled — used the lewd expression. “I will fully cop to that,” she said. A neighbor standing in the street, who asked not to be identified because of the friction on the block, said he heard her say the word too.
Lastly, The Times pointed out, “If the [Alitos’] flag was intended as a message for the Badens, whose home does not have a direct view of the Alito residence, they missed it, they said.” Oh.
So, what about the “Appeal to Heaven” flag at the Alitos’ beach house last summer? That also became a pro-coup symbol as well as a “a push to remake American government in Christian terms,” The Times explained in a separate article.
Why, that’s all the wife’s fault, too.
I recall that my wife did fly that flag for some period of time, but I do not remember how long it flew. And what is most relevant here, I had no involvement in the decision to fly that flag.
My wife is fond of flying flags. I am not. My wife was solely responsible for having flagpoles put up at our residence and our vacation home and has flown a wide variety of flags over the years. … I was not familiar with the "Appeal to Heaven" flag when my wife flew it. … I was not aware of any connection between this historic flag and the "Stop the Steal Movement.”
Even if you believe all that, if Alito had any respect for our justice system, he’d recuse himself from any and all cases related to Trump and January 6. The fact that he refuses to do so tells you that he cares more about casting a vote in favor of his position.
Not surprisingly, he’s playing the victim while he robs SCOTUS of another chunk of integrity. He wrote: “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.”
Dems, don't take this lying down. It is even more reason you must take strong action against Alito and, while you're at it, Clarence Thomas, too.
