Durbin requests meeting with Chief Justice John Roberts over Alito controversy
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) requested a meeting with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts "imploring" him to ensure Justice Samuel Alito recuses himself from Jan. 6-related cases, Durbin's office announced on Friday.
The big picture: Alito is facing growing calls from Democratic lawmakers to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election and the Capitol insurrection after the New York Times reported two instances of controversial flags affiliated with the rioters flying outside his homes.
Zoom in: Durbin and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, said they sent a letter dated Thursday to Roberts.
- In addition to the recusal, the senators asked Roberts to "implement an enforceable code of conduct at the Court" and are seeking "to discuss the Supreme Court's worsening ethics crisis."
- A Supreme Court spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What they're saying: "Both the Court and the Judicial Conference appear to have failed to even investigate allegations of ethics violations by Supreme Court justices, much less provide any findings or sanctions," the senators said in the letter.
- "Until the Court and the Judicial Conference take meaningful action to address this ongoing ethical crisis, we will continue our efforts to enact legislation to resolve this crisis," they added.
Between the lines: The demands come amid faltering public trust in the nation's highest court, just as it's set to make seismic rulings related to former President Trump.
- To many Democrats, Alito's controversy reinforces their suspicions about conservative justices' sympathy for Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.
- Durbin previously said the flag "clearly creates the appearance of bias" and "Justice Alito and the rest of the court should be doing everything in their power to regain public trust."
Context: The New York Times reported last week that an upside-down American flag flew outside of Alito's home in 2021, just weeks after the Jan. 6 attack. The flag is widely recognized as a symbol of the "Stop the Steal" movement.
- Alito told the Times he had "no involvement" with the upside-down flag and that his wife "briefly placed" it "in response to a neighbor's use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard signs."
- Then this week, The Times reported that an "Appeal to Heaven" flag was hung outside Alito's vacation home in New Jersey in July and September of 2023. The Revolutionary War symbol was embraced by right-wing groups and some Jan. 6 rioters.
<br/>Go deeper: Alito faces intense heat from Congress over flag controversy
