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The only person who can hold Samuel Alito The person responsible appears to be Samuel Alito. It is a sad state of affairs that was highlighted on Monday, when the President of the Senate for the Judiciary Dick Durbina staunch advocate for Supreme Court ethics reform, called on the judge to recuse himself from the 2020 election subversion cases.
The New York Times he discovered that in early 2021, an upside-down American flag was flying in front of his house, a symbol of support Donald TrumpAlito’s rebellion, which Alito blamed on his wife.
But with no outside mechanism to check on the high court and no Republicans likely to support a serious effort to curb it, Durbin acknowledged that he ultimately had no real way to hold Alito accountable for his apparent conflict of interest.
“I don’t think there’s much to be gained from a hearing at this point,” Durbin, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate, said Monday.
He added that Alito, who is also under scrutiny for selling Bud Light stock during a right-wing boycott over the brewery’s marketing partnership with a transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney– should “recuse himself from matters involving Trump and his administration.” But “there is no other way out but impeachment,” he said, “and we’re not at that stage at all.”
It’s disheartening to see this sentiment in the resignation of one of the most powerful lawmakers in Washington, and not all Democrats share that sentiment. The Sheldon White House, the lead sponsor of the Supreme Court Ethics, Exemption and Transparency Act, told Politico that Alito’s “outlandish apologies to Fox News are no substitute for a real investigation” into whether he should recuse himself from Trump affairs — and that a formal investigation could shine a light on the scandal.
The nature of Alito’s behavior to the American public. But when it comes to disciplining Alito or preventing him from deciding whether Trump can commit crimes with impunity, Durbin is right: Alito and his fellow justices are essentially their own watchdogs for now.
All of this speaks to the Supreme Court’s profound lack of institutional integrity, as well as the political cynicism of Republicans — some of whom, to be fair, even expressed concern over the Alito flag incident.
Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on Durbin’s committee, acknowledged that Alitos wearing a “Stop the Steal” symbol was “not good judgment” — poor quality, one might think, for one of the most powerful men in the country.
It is interesting that in May, when Durbin requested a hearing on the gifts Clarence Thomas got powerful conservative donors, senators gathered behind conservative court and accused the Democrats of an “improper effort” to “destroy the legitimacy (John Roberts‘) Court.
Why, then, in front of Alito’s house – a few days after the attempt to overthrow democracy in which most of the Republican leaders participated – is the flag flying upside down – somehow another one?
Some Republicans, like Sen. John Kennedy, defended Alito saying that he should not be responsible for his wife’s political activities. “I don’t see any evidence that Justice Alito had anything to do with this,” Kennedy said. Of course, there will be no “proof” without an investigation.
But even then, the investigation is unlikely to provide enough damning evidence for Republicans to do anything to upset the supermajority they installed on the court.
That doesn’t mean Democrats should put up with this scandal-ridden court: They may not get anything done with their Republican colleagues, but they should take every opportunity to make their case to the American electorate, whose elections five months from now will decide whether should these judges exercise supervision or will they continue to work as they are, without any responsibility towards the public.
“Judge Alito tore down the flag,” said the Democratic representative. Jamie Raskin wrote monday. “The Roberts Court struck down the Constitution. Let’s turn America upside down in November.”
But until then, things will probably be business as usual.
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