Alito spoke with Trump hours before court filing on hush-money sentencing
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito at the Supreme Court building in 2022 in Washington, D.C. Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images
Justice Samuel Alito spoke with President-elect Trump the day before the Republican leader's lawyers asked the Supreme Court to halt Friday's sentencing in his New York hush money case, the judge confirmed Wednesday.
What they're saying: Alito said in a statement first reported by ABC News that he agreed to take the call from Trump on Tuesday afternoon after his former clerk William Levi asked him to recommend him for a job in the incoming administration.
- "We did not discuss the emergency application he filed today, and indeed, I was not even aware at the time of our conversation that such an application would be filed," Alito said.
- "We also did not discuss any other matter that is pending or might in the future come before the Supreme Court or any past Supreme Court decisions involving the President-elect."
Why it matters: It's not unusual for justices to give job recommendations for former clerks, but the timing of the call, hours before the filing of an appeal against the conviction of what would be the first-ever criminal sentencing of a living president, drew criticism from advocates who've campaigned for more transparency in courts and raised ethics concerns.
What they're saying: Gabe Roth, executive director of the advocacy group Fix the Court, called the call "an unmistakable breach of protocol," per AP.
- "No person, no matter who they are, should engage in out-of-court communication with a judge or justice who's considering that person's case."
- Roth told the New York Times what made the call particularly problematic was recent ethical issues concerning the Supreme Court, and especially Alito.
The other side: Carrie Severino, president of the conservative advocacy group JCN, on X called the reaction to Alito's call "the newest manufactured 'ethics' scandal over a simple reference check."
- She added, "The Left is once again making up fake ethics rules as a way to smear a justice who they despise for authoring the Dobbs opinion and faithfully following the Constitution" — in reference to the Supreme Court's majority decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and end federal abortion protections.
Zoom out: Trump's lawyers are asking for the Supreme Court to pause sentencing in the N.Y. case while his presidential immunity appeals play out.
- Representatives for Trump and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment in the evening.
Go deeper: Supreme Court adopts code of conduct for justices amid ethical scrutiny
