Justice Samuel Alito faces backlash as he criticizes ProPublica's investigative report on Supreme Court ethics in newly released audio

WASHINGTON, DC: Newly disclosed audio recordings depict conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito criticizing ProPublica's award-winning reporting on ethical issues within the court, characterizing it as an effort to “make something out” of “any little thing they can find.”

The audio, recorded by Ally Sammarco, an associate of liberal documentary filmmaker Lauren Windsor, originates from an event hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society on June 3, according to HuffPost.

Windsor initially provided the recording to Rolling Stone and subsequently shared it on X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday, June 11.

What does Justice Samuel Alito say in the recorded video?

In the audio recording, Sammarco comes up to Justice Alito, compliments him as an "American hero," and asks him about the "undeserved" media criticism he’s received lately.

Initially, Alito responds in a more muted manner, saying, “They don’t like our decisions, and they don’t like how they anticipate we may decide some cases that are coming up. That’s the beginning of the end of it.”

Subsequently, he suggested, “There are groups that are very well-funded by ideological groups that have spearheaded these attacks. That’s what it is.”

Justice Alito then began disparaging ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative media organization, when he was pressed for details.

“ProPublica gets a lot of money, and they have spent a fortune investigating Clarence Thomas, for example. You know, everything he’s ever done in his entire life,” Alito remarked.

“They’ve done some of that to me, too,” he added. “They look for any little thing they can find, and they try to make something out of it.”

ProPublica was awarded a Pulitzer Prize last month for its ‘Friends of the Court’ series, which brought to light the receipt of expensive gifts by Justices Alito and Thomas and another conservative justice on the SCOTUS from prominent billionaires.

The investigative report disclosed that Justice Clarence Thomas had received travel and vacations valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars from billionaire Texas businessman Harlan Crow.

Additionally, ProPublica revealed that Justice Alito had traveled on a privately funded jet, courtesy of billionaire financier Paul Singer, during a 2008 Alaska vacation.

Additionally, recordings from the same June 3 event captured Justice Alito expressing that "one side or the other is going to win" in the ongoing political division between the left and the right.

He also concurred with the sentiment that the nation needed to "return our country to a place of godliness."

Justice Alito has also faced criticism following The New York Times' revelation that flags associated with the Capitol rioters had been displayed at his residence shortly after the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

Despite calls for recusal from cases related to the January 6 rioters and former President Donald Trump’s allegations of election interference, Justice Alito has steadfastly refused to step down from these cases.

Internet skewers Justice Samuel Alito for disparaging ProPublica's investigative reporting of ethical issues

One X user suggested, "We need Senate hearings investigating Alito and Thomas…"

Another user remarked, "'Any little thing??' More than $4 million in 'gifts' from right wing billionaires is a 'little thing?'" [sic]

Another user wrote, "So cavalierly haughty, dismissive and pompously unbecoming...."

One X user quipped, "The Alitos are giving the Thomases a run for their money!"

Another user said, "I think the most remarkable thing about these tapes is the utter disdain and contempt for Alito and his wife have for the Supreme Court. You can smell the acidic bile they spray all over the institution. Alito MUST be removed."

A user argued, "Little? Getting a pass from a traffic cop when caught doing 10 over the speed limit is little. Raking in cash & grift gifts from 'supporters' ain’t."

Finally, this user tweeted, "Stuff it Alito! The minute you start on 'need to return to godliness.' You’re supposed to support our Constitution & Laws not your opinionated religious book." [sic]

 

This article contains remarks made on the Internet by individual people and organizations. MEAWW cannot confirm them independently and does not support claims or opinions being made online.