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Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said he would not recuse himself from upcoming cases involving January 6 rioters and Donald Trump amid controversy over his political ideology.
In a letter to more than 30 congressional members, Justice Alito said he will not recuse himself from participating in the case Trump v US which will determine if Donald Trump has criminal immunity and Fischer v US which will decide if January 6 rioters were correctly charged with a specific crime.
His response comes after a New York Times report revealed Justice Alito and his wife flew an upside-down American flag at their Virginia home after the 2020 presidential election – a symbol used by election deniers.
Justice Alito blamed his wife for the incident and doubled down on that in his letter.
“My wife and I own our Virginia home jointly. She therefore has the legal right to use the property as she sees fit, and there were no additional steps that I could have taken to have the flag taken down more promptly,” he wrote.
The Supreme Court Justice said his wife’s reasons for flying the upside-down flag are “not relevant” but said she was “greatly distressed” due to a “nasty neighborhood dispute” she was involved in.
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