Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito slammed as Sen Dick Durbin urges him to step off Trump 2020 election cases over US flag debacle

WASHINGTON, DC: The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and others on Friday, May 17, urged Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito to remove himself from cases related to the 2020 general election, including the question of former President Donald Trump’s immunity from criminal prosecution.

This request stems from the controversy over an upside-down US flag that flew outside Alito's residence more than a week after the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, according to CNBC.

Senate Judiciary Committee chairman raises ethical concerns surrounding Justice Samuel Alito

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, implied that the conservative Supreme Court judge was contributing to ethical concerns surrounding the SCOTUS, following an article published by The New York Times on Thursday.

The piece detailed a photo of the US flag displayed upside-down outside the justice’s Virginia home on January 17, 2021, three days before President Joe Biden's inauguration.

Justice Alito informed the aforementioned outlet that his wife, Martha-Ann Alito, hung the flag upside-down after a confrontation with a neighbor following the 2020 election, which Trump has falsely claimed to have won.

Notably, during the Capitol Hill insurrection as well as at protests and rallies, some Trump supporters, who argued that he won the 2020 election, displayed the US flag in that same manner.

Per the US Flag Code, "The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property."

Sen Durbin stated, "Flying an upside-down American flag — a symbol of the so-called ‘Stop the Steal’ movement — clearly creates the appearance of bias."

He declared, "Justice Alito should recuse himself immediately from cases related to the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection, including the question of the former President’s immunity in US v Donald Trump, which the Supreme Court is currently considering."

The Supreme Court is poised to rule shortly on Trump's claim of presidential immunity from prosecution in a federal case in Washington, DC.

In this particular case, the 77-year-old MAGA strongman faces charges pertaining to his efforts to overturn Biden's election victory in 2020. In late April, Alito and the other justices heard oral arguments in that case.

"The Court is in an ethical crisis of its own making, and Justice Alito and the rest of the Court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust," remarked Durbin.

On Friday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to reporters pressing her about the contentious issue, saying, "I don't want to comment on the specific report, on that reporting."

She added, "What I can say more broadly is that the president believes that the American flag is sacred, you’ve heard him say that, and is owed proper respect in honor of the brave men and women who have defended our country for generations, and we should be respecting that flag, we should be making sure that it is respected in that way, it is sacred."

"As for anything else, the conduct or recusing himself that is something for the court to decide," noted the White House press secretary. 

Justice Samuel Alito claims his wife hung the flag upside down for a short time after a neighbor blamed her for the January 6 attacks

In a statement to The New York Times, Justice Alito said, "I had no involvement whatsoever in the flying of the flag. It was briefly placed by Mrs Alito in response to a neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."

Fox News host Shannon Bream in a series of social media posts on Friday affirmed Justice Alito told her that "a neighbor on their street had a 'F*** Trump' sign that was within 50 feet of where children await the school bus in Jan 21. Mrs. Alito brought this up with the neighbor."

She further wrote, "According to Justice Alito, things escalated and the neighbor put up a sign personally addressing Mrs Alito and blaming her for the Jan 6th attacks. Justice Alito says he and his wife were walking in the neighborhood and there were words between Mrs Alito and a male at the home with the sign. Alito says the man engaged in vulgar language."

"Following that exchange, Mrs Alito was distraught and hung the flag upside down 'for a short time'. Justice Alito says some neighbors on his street are 'very political' and acknowledges it was a very heated time in January 2021," noted Bream. 

Internet slams Justice Samuel Alito as he's urged to remove himself from cases related to the 2020 general election

One remarked, "That’s the trouble with Justices they don’t even lie good," and another said, "I think Alito should've said his lame excuse out loud to himself first ... maybe he would've made up a better one."

A person noted, "Alito is a liar. Recuse yourself Alito. Resigning would be better." "It's almost like Alito is a pathological liar," declared someone else. 

"No excuses! No one believes him. Blaming his wife is absurd," expressed one more, while another person added, "So the Alito family response was flag desecration. Disgusting."

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.