Alito, Ethics and the Scourge of Arrogance Justice Samuel Alito expects the public to accept his
impartiality, even after news broke that a "Stop the Steal" flag
was flying over his house. He should recuse himself from cases involving J6.
His wife
did it. The neighbor made
her do it. It’s not his fault. This is the basic defense of Samuel A. Alito,
Jr., a justice of the United States Supreme Court. You’ve probably heard
the basic details of this terrible tale. It goes like this: Several days
ago, The New York Times published a photo and the story of an upside-down American
flag flying outside Alito’s Alexandria, Va., home in the days after the
January 6 insurrection. That inverted flag is historically a symbol of dire
distress that was co-opted by the insurrectionist “Stop the Steal” crowd and
other anti-government extremists. That flag—that highly
partisan message to Alito’s neighbors and the world—was photographed on Jan.
17, 2021, just days before Joe Biden’s inauguration; and it was already up
for several days, according to one neighbor’s email at the time. It was
raised in response to a nearby “anti-Trump sign with an expletive,” the Times reported. “I had no involvement
whatsoever in the flying of the flag,” Justice Alito said in a statement emailed to the Times. “It was briefly placed by Mrs. Alito in response to a
neighbor’s use of objectionable and personally insulting language on yard
signs.” Note Alito’s response.
Not “this was wrong.” Not “I take full responsibility.” Not “I am sorry.”
Rather: Put the blame on the Mrs. and defend, defend, defend. Also: Ignore
the deeper underlying issue that, at a time when the opinion of the nation’s
highest court is in steep decline, the country needs justices possessing unassailable
ethics and character. As if the
first responsibility for a judge—a member of the Supreme Court, for crying
out loud—is not to be a calm and careful voice. As if it’s OK for Alito and
his family to respond to the world around them defensively, aggressively,
politically, angrily. As if it’s perfectly acceptable for a Supreme Court
justice to conduct his affairs on and off the court with extreme
partisanship, thumbing his nose at democracy and the will of the people. Don’t just listen to me.
Note the Supreme Court’s guidelines for its own staff: “Employees may not engage in
partisan political activity. Partisan political activity is political
activity related to elections contested by political parties.” And:
“Employees may not engage in nonpartisan political activity if the activity
could reflect adversely on the dignity or impartiality of the Court or it
interferes with official duties.” Dignity and
impartiality. Alito, a grievance-filled member of the nation’s highest court,
has made clear how little he cares about modeling either of those principles. This event
has rightly triggered wide outrage. The
duty of a SCOTUS judge—any judge, in fact—is to deliver fair and impartial
justice. Are we really to believe he didn’t see the flag flying outside his
own house for days? Really? And beyond
legitimate questions about his truthfulness: That same justice—who allied
himself with insurrectionists willing to commit violence to subvert free and
fair elections—is still weighing in on cases involving the January 6 attack,
including most despicably a slow-moving ruling on presidential immunity. This all makes a mockery
of Chief Justice John Roberts’ assertions that he cares about the credibility
of the court and securing the public’s trust. “I want to assure people that I
am committed to making certain that we as a court adhere to the highest standards
of conduct,” Roberts said last year. A decade ago, in what
now seems practically ancient, Roberts worried about the rancor and partisan
divisions within Washington and its impact on the Supreme Court. “I don’t
want it to spill over and affect us,” he said in 2014. “That’s not the way we do business. We’re
not Republicans or Democrats.” So much for
that outdated view of the court. Count Dick Durbin,
Senator from Illinois and chair of the Judiciary Committee, among
Congressional Democrats who can see what’s happening and demand action. Durbin has stated that the inverted flag at Alito’s house “clearly
creates the appearance of bias.” And he insists something must be done:
“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 U.S. v. Donald Trump.” I could not
agree more. And yet, disdain and the ideological pursuit of power continues
to thrive on this court. In lieu of
a proper ethics code for this court—that is, one with
enforcement mechanisms—we have every reason to expect that neither Alito nor
Justice Clarence Thomas (whose wife Ginni participated energetically in
efforts to reject the 2020 election results) will recuse themselves. And
rather than make public statements explaining their refusal, these arrogant
men will simply ignore the public’s outrage and the ethical issues in
question. It’s a
tragic irony that the very people responsible for upholding the bedrock
democratic principle of equality believe they are entitled to float above
public reprobation. It’s hard to overstate how much damage this does to the
once-respected court’s credibility. Last November—after
months of public outrage over revelations that Thomas accepted lavish
vacations and other gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow—the court announced that it had created an ethics code for its
justices. But consider that document’s first two “canons”: “A Justice of the Supreme Court of
the United States should maintain and observe high standards of conduct in
order to preserve the integrity and independence of the federal judiciary.”
And, “A Justice should respect and comply with the law and act at all times
in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality
of the judiciary.” Please
explain to me how that inverted flag which flew for days at Alito’s home does
not violate “high standards of conduct” or “promotes public confidence in the
integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.” Please explain to me how
Justice Alito can reasonably justify not recusing himself from cases related
to the 2020 election and the Jan. 6 insurrection. I don’t
have any confidence that he will recuse himself, of course. Alito and Thomas
have followed the Trump Republican playbook: Never apologize. Never admit
wrong-doing. Never show any signs of shame. This
scourge of arrogance deepens the already-deep polarization in the body
politic because its proponents provide no quarter for discussion, negotiation
or accommodation. Worse, this attitude increases the prospects for violence
because it fuels extremism and exacerbates anger and conflict. The last place
this scourge should be on display is the nation’s highest court—and yet it
is. Add this to
the list of necessary reasons for Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans to face
an overwhelming defeat in November: The real possibility that the next
president will be selecting the next justices of the Supreme Court. We don’t
need more anti-democratic disdain on the court—or anywhere in government.
That prospect is enough to make me raise an inverted American flag as an
expression of extreme distress. Almost enough, that is. The last thing we
need is more people appropriating and abusing symbols of democracy and
justice. |
