Responding to calls from congressional Democrats, Justice Samuel Alito flatly rejects calls to recuse himself in two cases before the Supreme Court implicate Donald Trump because of two flags that flew out of his house.
In letters Wednesday to House and Senate Democrats, Alito said he had nothing to do with the flag-waving and that none of the incidents merited recusal under the code of conduct. Also, he says, neither he nor his wife knew the meanings now attributed to the flags.
“My wife and I jointly own our home in Virginia. Therefore, she has the legal right to use the property as she sees fit, and there were no additional steps I could have taken to remove the flag more quickly Alito wrote in the letters to Democrats.
Democrats seized on New York Times reports that an upside-down American flag had flown outside Alitos' Virginia home and an independent “Appeal to Heaven” flag had flown outside his vacation home . They argued that the two incidents create an appearance of impropriety that requires Alito to recuse himself from any matters related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot or the 2020 election.
But going back to 2021, Alito has consistently said he had nothing to do with any flag-waving, which he has said was just an interest of his wife. He emphasized this point in his two letters.
On the upside-down American flag that briefly flew outside her Virginia home in 2021, she said in the letters that she had asked him to take it down and that she eventually agreed to do so.
“My wife's reasons for carrying the flag are not relevant for present purposes,” he wrote, “but I know she was very distressed at the time owing in large part to a very unpleasant neighborhood dispute in which I had no involvement.”
Alito wrote that a house down the street displayed a sign that personally attacked his wife, and a man who lived there at the time followed her down the street and “reprimanded her in my presence with foul language, including what I consider the vilest epithet that can be addressed to a woman.”
“My wife is a private citizen and has the same First Amendment rights as all other Americans,” Alito continued. “She makes her own decisions and I've always respected her right to do that.”
That's consistent with the Alitos' position dating back to 2021, when they were confronted leaving their home by a Washington Post reporter who had been tipped off by a neighbor three years ago about the upside-down flag.
When the reporter asked about the flag, the Post said Ms. Alito shouted, “it's an international distress signal!”
The Post detailed the incident in an article on Saturday, explaining why it decided not to publish the story in 2021.
“The justice denied the flag was hung upside down as a political protest, saying it stemmed from a neighborhood dispute and indicated his wife had raised it,” the Post said.
The Post described the reporter's 2021 encounter with the Alitos outside their home, saying that Mrs. Alito told the reporter, in apparent reference to the neighbors, “Ask them what they did!”
The Post reporter then observed that Mrs. Alito got out of the car “and then pulled from her residence a novelty flag, the kind that would normally decorate a garden. She raised it on the flagpole. “So! Is it better?” he shouted.”
This 2021 report is consistent with Tuesday's most recent New York Times story detailing the neighborhood dispute. The Post said it did not publish the story because it was an ongoing neighborhood dispute with Ms. Alito that did not involve Justice.
On the “Appeal to Heaven” banner, Alito says Martha-Ann Alito also brought it. He said he had nothing to do with it and that neither of them saw other meanings in the flags.
He also said he didn't fly it to associate with “Stop the Steal” or any other group.
“As I said in reference to the other flag event, my wife is an independent-minded private citizen,” Alito wrote. “She makes her own decisions, and I respect her right to do that. Our vacation home was bought with money she inherited from her parents and is titled in her name. It's a place, far from Washington, where you should be able to relax.”
Jan Crawford
